Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Withering Legacies
by ArceusGPG
Summary: Sometimes the future can be frightening, but the past can be even more so, especially when it wants to catch up with you. Running from his problems used to work, until he met a strange Chimchar that changed everything. Updated every Monday.
1. Chapter 1: Ex Nihilo

Out in the scorching wild, literally everything you encounter wishes you were dead. Some want to eat you, and still others want to avoid being eaten. The plants, though sparse in the desert, desire my nutrients as much as the bugs and beasts do. Even the arid ground thirsts for another victim, watching with a stoic stare, anticipating the moment when I should fall and never rise again.

Every moment spent alive is bought with a price- the time another creature could have spent living. It's harsh, but that's reality: life begets death and death fosters life. Even strength is not enough to ward against the claws of death, though many have tried. All I can do is survive another day, hoping to be the first to cheat death, pushing aside the unpleasant thoughts of a cold eternity.

The bones of my predecessors lay scattered in the hot sand, touched only by the unrelenting sun after they'd been sufficiently picked dry. I know all of the skeletons have a story to tell; they were once alive, filled with dreams and aspirations, clinging to their precious lives until they were all but forgotten in the sands of time. As a Cacnea, I know my remains won't be there to tell my parting tale. When nature is through with me, I'll have nothing to leave behind, no legacy to call my own- not even a pile of bones.

The sky had already begun its transformation into night; the stars could finally be visible, though not into discernible constellations yet. That meant it was time to set up camp and call it a night.

Because of my understandable fear of fire and the snakes it often brought, night was a moment of nothingness, a cold, empty space between the dying of the sun and its rebirth. During those times, I would remain still as a statue, motionless in the scarecrow-like stance I had developed over the years. Eventually, I would lose all sense of self and fall asleep, dreaming of my old home, and the rain it used to have. Then I would wake up and keep walking.

I didn't know where I was going, not that it really mattered. In all directions, the landscape seemed just as stark and unwelcoming as the rest of the world. As long as I kept walking, I could pretend I was making progress, going on an adventure with a beginning and happy ending. As long as I kept moving, I was a rugged explorer, braving the world's harshest terrain; if I stopped, I was just a hopeless vagabond, wandering in the Dismal Desert.

Promising myself that I would set up camp after a few more minutes, I continued my determined waddle. Having only stubby legs to carry me doesn't allow for incredible speed, but it allows me to pivot and shift my weight rather easily, thanks to my long, spiked arms and rotund figure. To the low-dwellers, I must look rather intimidating, unpredictable in my movements and covered in sharp thorns. To anyone taller than a beach ball though, my gait would seem rather silly, despite my best efforts to the contrary.

I scanned the horizon for any signs of water. The resource was too valuable not to search for on occasion, though I could survive for many weeks without it. I found nothing of interest, except a small glimmer in the distance that was close enough to walk to. In a fit of curiosity, I did so.

At first, I thought the light was just a shiny rock or a small bush that had caught fire, but as I moved closer, I saw it was another Pokémon, fallen face-first in the sand. I had no idea if it was dead or not, but I ran to it regardless, wondering how another Pokémon could have made it so far into the Dismal Desert. It wasn't a friendly place to say the least, and anyone willing to traverse so far must have had a good reason.

After reaching the body, I saw that it was a Chimchar, a Chimchar with a low-set tail that was still alight. That meant he was both male and alive. That also meant he could be dangerous, and I wasn't about to stand next to a fire type out in the sun-scorched desert with no one else to help me. I backed away and gave him some space, just in case it was a trap.

Looking around, I couldn't find any footprints in the sand besides my own. I could not remember the last time the wind blew or the rain fell, so any tracks made in the ground were there to stay. If he was alive, he was either really good at covering his tracks or had been there for a long time. I found it strange that his fire tail hadn't been put out though- usually Chimchar extinguish their tails to avoid drawing unwanted attention or starting unwanted fires. If he was pretending to sleep, he was doing a very poor job of it.

After watching the little monkey for a while, I finally gathered up the nerve to see if he was alright. Even fire types can become dehydrated, a serious condition for any creature regardless of its inherent irony, made all the worse by the dry atmosphere. There wasn't much I could do to help except poke him awake, but I had nothing better to do anyway.

Being careful not to skewer him on my thorns, I flipped him over on his back and listened to his breathing. He sounded perfect. He must have gotten water from somewhere because his throat wasn't even dry. If I kept him alive, maybe he could tell me where to find it.

I had to admire his bravery though- he hadn't even brought a canteen to drink from. Had he been robbed? I couldn't see any signs of a struggle- the only apparent mark on his body was a faint scar that ran from his lip up to his nostril: likely an old wound that never healed. If he was attacked by bandits, he'd gotten off lucky- most desert thieves were not inclined toward mercy.

I shifted my attention to the space overhead. The once faint points of light were now bright enough to guide me, that is, if I ever learned how to use them. Navigation was never my strong suit- not that I really had one in the first place.

Suddenly a loud cough interrupted my thoughts, startling me. I looked down to see the Chimchar finally awake, spitting out the sand he'd collected in his mouth. I took another cautionary step back, the noise of which caused him to quickly look at me.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice trembling slightly.

"Hey," I answered. "You're awake already."

It was his turn to be startled. He reeled back and got to his feet, suddenly much more awake than before.

"Woah! You're a talking Cacnea! Can you understand me?"

"I'm _trying_ to, but you're not making it very easy," I said with a frustrated growl. "I'm not interested in playing your games, monkey; I just want to know where to find some water."

"Monkey? I'm not-"

He looked down at his hands; his eyes widened in surprise. He gasped in horror, as if his own hands were foreign to him. Then he began poking himself, perhaps to see if he was real or not. After feeling the top of his head, he looked at me with a blank expression.

"I'm a Chimchar now, aren't I?"

"You look like one," I said with a shrug. I wasn't entirely convinced the guy was sane- extended periods of solitude can do that to you- but he didn't seem violent, at least not yet. "So which Pokémon were you before, _Chimchar_?"

"No...," he said, his voice trailing off. He began staring off into the horizon, probably hoping the sand would give him the words he needed. "I- I wasn't a Pokémon. I was a human."

I snorted. There were no such things as humans, not as far as I knew. If they ever did exist, their history was long forgotten, like the stories told by desert bones. If it were up to me, I'd let the legends die, along with all the storytellers that prolonged their memories. Chimchar heard my exhale and regarded me with childlike annoyance.

"Are you laughing at me? I can't read your face very well."

"If I'm laughing," I said tersely. "You shouldn't be surprised."

A brief look of annoyance flashed across his face, quickly replaced by a forced smile. He waved his hand, dismissing my comment with a laugh. "You're right," he said. "My story sounds kinda crazy, so I don't blame you. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on, so I'm sorry if I'm short with you."

He took a few steps toward me and put his hand out. "I'm Barak. Nice to meet you."

I turned away from him, opting to stare at the stars instead. "The last time I shook anyone's hand, they ended up with a bloody palm."

I lifted up my spine-covered arm into the air for him to see, then let it drop in the sand below. "I'm not interested in making friends here, so if you're not going to help me, I'll just move on."

"That's just it," Barak said with a little less confidence. "I was hoping, y'know, that we could stick together for a while and help each other out. See, I'm kinda lost right now and-"

"And you want me to babysit you?"

"I want you to join me," he countered, catching me off guard. I stopped staring at the sky for a moment. That's when I saw him- his tail and eyes were burning with intense flames. His fists were clenched into little balls, both of which were trembling. Whatever he was saying, he was serious about it.

"I've only been here a while, but I've grown attached to this world."

I looked around. There was nothing to love about emptiness.

He continued, "I want to protect my new home, and the only way to do that is with friends by my side."

The sappiness he exuded was palpable. I didn't like the way he'd suddenly gotten chummy with me either. I looked away again, regretting ever going near the freak. That's when I saw two dark figures in the distance. They didn't look friendly, whatever they were.

"You don't understand," I said with an exasperated sigh. "I don't care about this world or the friends you're making in it. I'm interested in the present, in avoiding danger and surviving as long as I can."

"That's why-"

"That's why you're not following me around, got it?" I growled. If I wanted to escape from the new threat, I had to hurry. Huffing, I began running in the opposite direction, hoping my little legs could carry me fast enough.

Barak ran after me, shouting, "Hey! Where are you going?"

It wasn't long before he overtook me, and running beside me, continued to pester me with questions.

"What are you doing? I'm not that bad, am I? Sorry if I annoyed you."

I stopped. Running was futile if a little Chimchar could catch me. I looked back and saw the two shapes again, this time much closer. After squinting at them for a moment, I realized who they were.

Barak stopped too, sliding in the sand as he did so. "Why are you running, anyway? It's the middle of the night! There's probably-"

"Tell you what," I announced, cutting him off. I pointed to the now-discernible silhouettes on the horizon. "Do you see those figures that are heading toward us?"

Barak shielded his eyes from the nonexistent sun and faced the direction I was gesturing to.

"Yeah, I see them. Are they friendly?"

"Not really. They're Rattata and Sandshrew, also known as Team Drill, an exploration team that makes a habit of harassing other desert dwellers. They're scavengers by nature, and thieves by all accounts. They're coming here to take all we have and leave us for dead, if I'm not mistaken," I noted, keeping a deadpan tone to accent the sarcasm in my voice. "Or maybe they'll kill us for fun, who knows?"

Barak put on a surprisingly confident smirk. Pounding his fist into his palm, he growled and increased the intensity of his flame tail.

"I'd like to see them try."

"That's the spirit!" I shouted with a patronizing voice. "If you can take them down, I'll join you, how's that?"

"Promise?"

"Yeah, sure."

Almost as soon as I said those words, he began charging at the thieves on all fours, gaining momentum with every lunge forward. Shrieking at the top of his lungs, he let out an indescribable war cry.

Without looking back, I resumed my determined waddle. I felt bad for tricking him like that, but I had to stay alive at all costs. Barak, Sandshrew, and Rattata were all more powerful than me; that much I knew. But power isn't everything.

In the wild, it's not the strong that survive, but those that are willing to sacrifice others' lives for their own. That is the nature of survival: kill or be killed. The price of life will always be death.


	2. Chapter 2: In Memoriam

I didn't stop; I couldn't stop. Looking back would only slow me down, so I kept running, hoping I could run fast enough to escape my problems. I couldn't move very fast, but that didn't stop me from trying, not as long as I had a chance to live.

It was dark out. Desert nights were usually cold and dark, but I rarely had to worry about the visibility while I slept. With only the stories above illuminating my path, my vision was about as good as a mute Zubat's. There wasn't much to trip on, but it's rather unpleasant not knowing what you're heading toward. For all I knew, I might have been walking into an even more dangerous situation.

Even in the murk, I could tell I was moving closer to a large collection of objects in the distance. From where I was, they looked like giant rocks jutting out of the ground, but seemed oddly regular in their shapes. It was probably some ancient ruins or an abandoned shrine to the weather titans, but it could also be a thriving town with a reservoir in it, making the trip there worth it.

Eventually indiscernible shapes became buildings, and my hope for finding civilization became a real possibility. After months of wandering, I could finally dare to hope.

As I got closer though, I could tell that something was wrong, even before I saw the bodies. Maybe it was the eerie silence, or perhaps it was the way my legs seemed to involuntarily slow down with each step. I pressed onward though, certain I was safer in a ghost town than in the hands of bandits.

The place was small, small enough that the community was probably really close-knit. There were about a dozen houses, all with the exact same size and shape, built slightly underground to keep a more regular temperature in the heat and cold. Besides that, there were only two buildings and a tent with a long table underneath it. Both buildings had signs in front of them reading: "Storage" and "Prosperity Bank".

Along the ground, I could see a large variety of Pokémon, and most of which were unusual to find in any desert, let alone the Dismal Desert. There was a Shelgon and Froakie lying beside the bank and a pair of Pikachu a few steps behind them, one of them wearing a red scarf. A full-sized Tangrowth and Muk lay in a heap even farther away. Each Pokémon looked like they were strong and healthy, and I'm sure each of them had a name, identity, and social status at one point. Not anymore. Now they were all the same, made into nothing by the great equalizer.

As I walked along the streets, I realized that the bodies weren't even picked apart by the scavengers yet. All of the deaths seemed to have been recent and sudden, judging by the unusual positions and locations of their ultimate demise. Almost every carcass seemed to be paired with another; many of them were even holding hands. But every Pokémon, no matter where they were, had a look of horror and pain stuck on their faces, no doubt reflecting their final moments alive.

In the center of town, I could see a giant fountain-sized bowl of brown, sludgy water. I would have drank from the tainted water regardless, but then I saw a plump Munchlax and the little fighting-type Pokémon, Tyrogue, face-down in the water. If the town had been overrun with disease, drinking their contaminated excrement wasn't the best route to take.

I ducked into one of the houses. The inside was simple in its design, but that came as no surprise. On the floor were two piles of dried grass, functioning as nests for the residents, and a backpack in the corner of the room. After searching the contents of the bag, all I could find were apples, a few throwing pebbles, and a poison-curing Pecha berry. I dumped the bag out and put it on my back, well aware of the fact that I was already poking holes in it.

Moving onto the next house, I saw that it had almost the exact same design. There were two nests there and a backpack in the corner of the room. Unlike the other house, however, it appeared to be occupied at the moment. In the center of the house, lying dead in one of the nests, was a small little plant- a cactus. It was a Cacnea, just like me.

It's one thing to see a dead body- that sort of thing is not uncommon for me- but it's another matter entirely to see one of your own species dead. You can't help but see yourself in their place, even to the point of feeling unnecessary guilt over something you had nothing to do with. I was so taken aback, in such a state of shock, that I stared at the empty face for a long while. It was like looking in a mirror. He was the only one I'd found so far that was completely alone. It didn't help much that he had an empty nest next to him either.

Next to him was a small, shiny badge that caught my attention. It was simple in its design, boasting only what appeared to be a winged circle. Yet, despite this, I felt myself drawn to it, like a child to forbidden sweets. I examined it closer and found the words "Explorer Badge" written on the back. From what I knew of Explorer Teams, this was the most important piece of equipment they could possess, though I'm sure the Chimchar I'd met was unaware of this. I put the badge in my new bag.

All of a sudden, I heard a noise outside, like the sound of approaching footsteps. I ran and hid behind the doorway, hoping the sound would pass. It didn't. In fact, it moved closer and closer until I was sure that it had stopped right in front of the house. Judging by the footfalls, there was only one Pokémon, and it was about my size. I could take it down if I struck first. Raising up one of my barbed arms, I waited to send it crashing down on the intruder.

Breathlessly I waited, anticipating the all-important moment. The footsteps came closer... closer... closer.

Then I saw movement. I brought down the hammer, bashing the creature's head. The shock of the impact sent shivers up my arm, but it brought the Pokémon down to his knees. I was about to deliver the second blow when he put his hands up and cried out.

"Wait! Cacnea! It's me!"

I stopped and looked down at the intruder. The guy was a mess. He was covered in sand, but I could tell it was Barak underneath all that dirt. I stayed my arm and stepped back, surprised to see him.

"Barak?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, standing up a bit taller. I saw that my thorns had torn a noticeable gash in his head, causing a little bit of blood to trickle down the back of his head. He didn't seem to notice yet.

"How come you didn't watch my first battle?" he asked. "It was awesome!"

I shrugged, but came up with a response anyway. "I wanted to find a place to stay for the night. I already knew you'd win the fight anyway."

He put his hand on the back of his neck nervously. "I nearly lost though. They seemed kinda tired, so maybe it was just luck."

He clutched his head in pain. "That still hurts, man. Why'd you attack me?"

Just after saying that, he looked at his bloody hand. It took him a while to register that his head was bleeding, but when he understood, he began to panic a little. His eyes darted around the room, searching for something to help him minimize the oozing liquid.

"I'm bleeding!" he shouted. "We need to get some bandages or something! Hurry!"

Even though it wasn't an emergency, I still felt the need to help him. It was his fault for sneaking up on me, but I still felt obligated to aid the poor guy, especially after sending him on a suicide mission. And, as it turned out, he wasn't as useless as he appeared to be. Maybe joining him would be safer than going alone. Well, unless he started acting crazy and pretending to be a human. Then I'd have to leave him as quickly and safely as possible.

My mind raced to think of solutions to the new problem before me. There was a wound and it needed a bandage. What could be used as a bandage? There had to be some sort of cloth that could be used...

In an instant, I knew.

"Wait here. I'll be right back," I said, running out the door.

"Hurry!" I heard him call. "It's getting everywhere!"

I didn't invite him to join me because he might have mixed feelings about taking from the dead. If he did, I can understand why. Dead things look creepy, the way their unmoving eyes stare at you. I figure they didn't need their stuff anymore, not that they needed most of their stuff anyway.

I ran to the bank where I saw the two Pikachu. There, wrapped around the neck of one of them, was a red scarf, perfect for minor head injuries. And, because the scarf was so dark, Barak would barely notice how much he bled. Hopefully he didn't act like a wimp every time he saw blood, because defending the world would be a bloody task. Almost every commitment is, it seems.

I carefully untied the scarf and pulled it with one quick motion. Then I ran back to the house where the Chimchar was waiting.

"Here's your bandage," I said, tossing him the scarf.

"Thanks," he said, as he put it on. All the while, he kept staring at the other Cacnea, probably thinking about some deep, philosophical thoughts on the nature of life and death. Or, knowing him, he was probably going to turn the quiet moment into a sappy one.

"When I first looked in here, I thought that you were dead," he said with a weak voice. "I didn't really know what to think. I've never had a friend die before."

"Don't make any friends and that'll never happen to you," I said with a grunt. Barak wasn't the best at taking hints, so that one probably went right over his head. "So are humans immortal then?" I asked, hoping to take the conversation in another direction.

He smiled. "No, they're just like everyone else."

He paused for a while. Then he said, "Listen, can we forget about the human part of me? That's all in the past now, and I don't remember any of it anyway. I'm here, in the world of Pokémon, and that's all that matters. I don't want my identity to be hinged on stuff I can't control."

For the first time, I could finally understand him. The past was impossible to change, so dwelling on it was pointless. Lucky him, he'd forgotten his old identity. He could form a new one, start a new life and become anyone he wanted to be. His rebirth was the greatest blessing he could have asked for, and it came free. I had to admit, I was beginning to grow jealous of his new life. The idea seemed tempting, except for one thing: the past tends to catch up with you. Everyone wants to be remembered.

I wasn't going to share my own past with him anyway, so his idea worked out for both of us.

"Agreed. I won't ask any personal questions, and I expect the same from you."

Barak nodded. "I can do that, but I need to know your name before I agree. What should I call you?"

I hadn't even thought about that question before, not for the longest time. I used to have a name once, back when I was somebody. Being a nobody, facing that question scared me a little. I didn't want to use my old name, so I would have to think of a new one on the spot. But that proved a rather difficult challenge in itself. I could name attributes about myself, or describe my appearance, but no single word could ever give justice to all of my qualities. So instead, I chose the first trait that came to my mind.

"Thorn," I said as boldly as I could. "Call me Thorn."

"That'll be easy to remember," he said cracking a smile. "You're pretty much covered in thorns, except for that flower thing on your head."

I growled at him warningly and quickly changed the subject. "So what did you do with Team Drill? You kill them?"

He looked horrified at the suggestion. "No! They fainted, that's all. They dropped some money too, but I figure they need it more than I do. Both of them looked kinda hungry, and I assume food isn't cheap around here."

"I wouldn't know," I said, as I began heading out the door.

"Hey wait for me!" he called. "We're a _team_ now."

I continued walking, certain that he would follow. His words made me grimace, but I knew they were true. A promise was a promise, regardless of how stupid it was. That meant I was stuck with him until he was bored of playing explorer games.

I walked to the building labeled "Storage" and cautiously entered through the open doorway. Barak followed behind me, keeping a hand pressed against his bandaged head. I began rummaging through a large crate for stuff to keep in my new bag. Barak stood in the middle of the room and watched.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, as if there were someone else listening.

"Gathering supplies. If you want some food, now's the time to get it. I think I see an apple in here, if you want it. I don't know where they got it from, but-"

"But that's _stealing_!" he said. "Those things don't belong to us."

"The food's gonna rot if you don't eat it. Besides, you don't want bad Pokémon like Team Drill taking this stuff instead, do you?"

He frowned but didn't say anything more about it. Instead, he looked outside and sighed. "What do you think happened?"

I grabbed some apples and another red scarf and put them in my bag. "I dunno, probably a fast-spreading disease. That, or someone poisoned their water supply. Either way, I'm not staying around long enough to find out."

There was something very wrong with the town- I could still feel it. Perhaps it was the air. I couldn't smell anything, having neither taste nor smell available to me, but I could feel the air's thickness in my lungs, making it more difficult to breathe. As if the town of carcasses needed any other reason to be creepy, there weren't any birds flying overhead or small Pokémon nibbling at the bodies, despite how plentiful the meat harvest was. It was becoming painfully obvious that the other desert Pokémon knew something that I didn't.

Reaching into the bottom of the crate, I could feel a large, folded piece of paper. Pulling it out, I realized it was a map of some sort- a map promising civilization to the south. It took me a while to decipher, having never seen the desert from an aerial view, but I was able to find the little town on the corner of the page. Thankfully, I'd seen some of the landmarks during my travels, otherwise the whole map would have been useless to me.

Looking at the town's name caused me to chuckle. I held up the map for Barak to see. "Hey, you'll never guess what this place is called," I announced.

Suddenly, there was loud screeching noise, like the sound of a blade sharpening against a grindstone. We ran outside to see what the noise was.

A large shadow flew by, causing the once still air to churn angrily. The wake of its flight nearly swept me off my feet, and blew sand directly into our faces. By the time the dust cleared, the flying creature was but a speck in the dark sky. It all happened so fast, neither of us had time to react until it was already long gone.

Barak continued to shake, even after the wind had died down. He turned to me, hoping I could offer him some comfort. "What _was_ that?"

I shook my head and put the map into the backpack. "I don't know, but it's heading in the same direction we're going. You want to protect the world, right? There's a city south of here, and according to the map, it's pretty close by. If we hurry, we can make it there by morning."

I pulled out the Explorer Badge and threw it to him. "I guess this means we're an official team now."

His expression of fear was replaced by a goofy grin. "You mind if I lead the way then?"


	3. Chapter 3: Nigredo

"So what do you think our team should be called?"

I brushed aside the question and continued staring at my hands, wondering why. Why did I have them? What use were spike-covered hands without fingers? They weren't tools for creating- they were tools of destruction. Thorns served no purpose but to cause pain and keep others at a distance. Perhaps I was right about picking my name.

"I don't care," I said with a shrug. "As long as it's not stupid."

But I needed my thorns; they were my only defense. Underneath my bristles was a soft core filled with life-giving water, a fact that many thirsty predators were already aware of. If I made disturbing me a painful and fruitless venture, eventually even the most persistent foe would have to give up eventually.

Barak slowed his walking a little as he pondered his own question. I silently followed behind him, my path lit by the glowing tail in front of me. I'd already decided to let him do the navigation and path-finding, allowing me to keep my body on autopilot as I thought about things.

Because I was on the bottom of the food chain, I never had to eat, never had to chase, never had to kill. Joining an explorer team was a surefire way to change that. Explorers were mercenaries that depended on their notorious names to eat. The more dangerous and intimidating the explorers, the more jobs they were given. And the quickest and most simple way to gain some recognition was to humiliate or kill someone else with a name.

Barak didn't seem like a killer. In fact, he didn't even seem like an explorer, any more than I probably did to him. If good intentions could offer any sort of advantage, he would have had a good chance, but that's not the way life works. The world didn't need protecting anyway. Every evil thing that besets the world comes from it- evil is inevitable. As long as there are lives to commit such evils, they will be done. There's no point in fighting a losing battle.

"You know what would be cool...," Barak thought out loud. "What if we called ourselves Team Protectors? That way everyone would know right away what our goal is."

"Do you even have a goal?"

The sharp tone in my voice caused him to look back for a moment, but only for a moment. "Sure I do. I wanna protect- y'know, the world from evil and fight bad guys."

"By doing what? What can _you_ do that all of the other do-gooders can't?"

My statement caused him to stop in his tracks. Pausing a moment, he turned to address me. "I can do my best," he said with his naïve assuredness. "You'll do the same, won't you, Thorn?"

It sounded like a genuine question, one without a certain answer. I gave him my honest one.

"I'll do what I have to and nothing more. We're not soldiers, Barak, and if-"

I stopped mid-sentence. While we were caught up in the conversation, someone had decided to pay us a visit. Standing a short distance away, a long, scaly creature with two bright yellow eyes was peering at me from the darkness. Approaching us, he kept his eyes fixed on me, never wavering as his head moved back and forth along the ground. He didn't make a sound as he moved, but was able to glide atop the sand like a reptilian phantom. The creature was Ekans- the snake Pokémon. I had to react fast if I wanted to stop it.

I pointed my hand at the beast and steadied my aim. Then I let loose.

"Poison Sting!" I shouted, hoping my outburst would catch him off guard. A purple bolt shot out from my hands and lodged into the target's side. Ekans didn't seem to react.

"Get back!" I commanded. I took a step forward and launched another dart, hitting him in almost the same place. Instead of running away, Ekans curled up, tucked his head in, and lay there.

I began marching up to him, determined to push the threat away if I had to. With my eyes fixed on the purple serpent, I was surprised when I saw Barak come into my vision. He stood between us and glared at me.

"Stop it, Thorn. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"I'll make sure he doesn't," I snarled. "I've seen what snakes do to people. They're killers, Chimchar, and I'm not going to let him kill us too."

"Sorry," I heard a voice say. Ekans uncurled its long body and looked directly at me. "So sorry to disturb you two. I saw the fire and was drawn to its warmth."

His voice was surprisingly high-pitched for a beast so large. As he spoke, he seemed to nervously bob his head back and forth, as if rocking himself.

Barak answered in a friendly tone. "It's alright, Ekans. We were just scared, that's all. You move really quietly for someone that moves along the ground."

"Yesss...," he replied as he turned to face the new speaker. "I have to sneak past Team Drill on occasion, and it's become necessary for my survival to remain as silent as possible."

"You know Team Drill?" Barak asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Do they bother you a lot?"

Ekans took a more relaxed posture. "Yes, but mostly out of ignorance. Both Rattata and Sandshrew are terrified of snakes. They react to my presence the same way your friend just did."

I ignored his statement and continued watching him distrustfully.

"They assume I'm going to eat them, but I've grown up on apples and berries all of my life, so the joke's on them."

Barak gave a polite chuckle. "Thorn and I saw them a few hours ago, and they didn't seem too smart, so I definitely believe you."

"Where did you see them? I'll try and avoid that area if I can."

Barak pointed behind himself. "A few miles that way, near the town. They weren't too much trouble to handle, so I'm sure you'll be alright."

Ekans reeled back in surprise. "You mean you actually _beat _them?"

He moved a little bit closer and looked at Barak's head bandage, probably believing that he got the injury from Team Drill. I kept eying him suspiciously, making sure he didn't make any sudden moves. So far, he'd behaved better than I expected him to, but that wasn't saying much. I didn't like the way Barak got all friendly-like with a total stranger, and I certainly didn't like the way he freely gave away valuable information as if it were just another conversation piece.

Ekans looked around nervously before speaking again. "Do you think... I could stay with you for a while? I don't want to intrude, but I'm not very strong and could sure use some strong allies."

"Everyone could use some strong allies," I countered. "What can _you_ do for _us_?"

"Thorn!" Barak said in a chiding voice. "That's not the Team Protectors way. True explorers should protect people, even if they never get anything in return."

I snorted. What nonsense. As nice as generosity sounded, the application of it left the givers starving. It was a perfect example of stupidity, throwing away energy and safety for nothing. Even worse, you would end up making yourself look weak in the process, and no one wants to recruit a weak team for jobs.

"You two are explorers?" Ekans asked. "That's even better! You two are staying at Hope right?"

"Staying at Hope?" Barak repeated.

I understood what he meant, having seen the map. I scoffed at the suggestion. "Not likely. Next time I catch an incurable disease though, I'll be sure to visit."

Barak was confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"The town filled with dead people: its name was Hope. Funny isn't it?" I said with a smirk.

Ekans didn't find it very funny. His eyes were wide with horror as he gasped, "Dead people? You mean..."

His voice trailed off. Everything he wanted to say was lost in a blank face of disbelief. He even tried to begin sentences, but they all ended up becoming short stutters. His lower lip was trembling so uncontrollably, it didn't seem possible for him to say anything. For a brief moment, I felt guilty for breaking the news to him that way, but I knew it wasn't my fault that he was so sensitive.

It took him a while, but eventually he was able to form some intelligible words.

"Maybe there's some mistake. There could be another village nearby."

"Not according to our map," I said.

Ekans was insistent. "But- but there's no way they could all die like that. They're some of the strongest exploration teams ever."

Barak looked sad too, even though the news meant nothing to him. "Oh, I'm so sorry Ekans. Did you have friends there?"

For the first time, I could see tears welling up in his eyes. I'm sure in his mind, he was still hoping that we were playing a mean joke on him, that we'd apologize soon and take everything back. Unfortunately for him, we were completely serious. Whatever friends he'd made there were gone for good.

"They were... that was... the only place that... that accepted me. It was the closest thing... I've ever had to home."

"I'm so sorry about that," I said without thinking. Saying those words made me feel sick. I couldn't tell if it was because I was being dishonest or sappy, but once those words were out, I knew I couldn't take them back.

Ekans nodded, acknowledging my condolences with numb appreciation. "I need some time alone," he said as he turned around and began slithering into the darkness.

The two of us stood by ourselves feeling much more alone, both beginning to realize how small and powerless we really were in the dark, empty desert. The world seemed a little bit colder than before.

It wasn't long until we heard faint noises. Before Ekans could make it out of earshot, he was already weeping. Even in the murk, I could imagine the snake, his chin buried in the cold sand, letting all of the burdens he'd carried roll down his face at once. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt.

I looked at my hands again. Before, I could blame my thorn-coated body for the pain I'd caused others. Now, I could only blame myself. What I chose to do with my hands was always up to me. I didn't have to make them tools of destruction, not as long as I used them to build. I didn't have to let nature decide my fate.

After all, survival was the fight against nature; giving up meant death. If I really wanted to live, I would have to make my own choices. I didn't have much, but I had my life, and that was worth more than anything to me.

"We need Ekans on our team," I said.

Barak folded his arms. "What's with the sudden change of heart? You were just fine with rejecting him before."

"It's not like that," I said, trying not to sound defensive. "I just think he'd be a good addition to the team, that's all."

"Because he's earned your pity?"

"No, because he's earned my respect. Do you remember when I hit him with Poison Sting? He didn't even flinch. I think he's stronger than he looks."

Barak nodded. "I think so too. As long as you two are done fighting, I think we could make a great team."

Punching my shoulder playfully, Barak gave his best smile. "We really should have packed more bandages. At the rate you're going, you'll end up attacking every new member of the team."

He winced. Punching a Cacnea wasn't the best decision he'd ever made. "You sure know how to deliver the pain, don't you? I can't wait to see you fight, Thorn; you're probably really strong too."

I was no such thing. It doesn't take any strength to hurt others.

Both of us sat down and rested, thoroughly exhausted from the journey. Though neither of us said it, we were looking forward to getting some sleep. To pass the time, I showed Barak the map, the direction we were heading, and the city we were moving toward.

"The city's name is Harmony?" he inquired, his finger on the dot's location. "Why do you think it's called that?"

I shrugged. "People like positive-sounding names. It makes them feel safer."

"But Dismal Desert isn't a very positive name."

"And that's why no one lives here... if they can help it," I said standing up.

"So what's with this other town over here in the corner? It doesn't even have a name."

He gestured to the other side of the desert, an area I was much more familiar with. There, out in the middle of nowhere, was another town, unlabeled and unassuming in its size and location. Even the mention of the town brought back old memories- memories I'd forget if given the choice.

"I have no idea," I lied. "How about you give me the map now? I think I hear Ekans coming anyway."

It was true- I did hear Ekans returning to us. I half expected him not to.

Before he showed up, I had to mentally prepare for his arrival. He still had those creepy yellow eyes that freaked me out before, and for good reasons. I've only had bad experiences with snakes, and seeing one after all that time made me realize how much pent-up anger I felt toward them. But as long as I kept a level head, I could avoid acting stupid.

Ekans slowly materialized out of the darkness and slithered up to us in an apologetic manner. "Thank you for waiting," he said in a calm voice.

"No problem, Ekans," Barak said. "So are you still interested in joining us? We could sure use your help."

Ekans nodded. "I think I am. But can I ask you guys something? What did you see in Hope? _Who_ did you see?"

Barak and I looked at each other, unsure how to address him. I was the one who spoke first. "There was no one left when we got there. Whatever happened, it was sudden."

"I figured as much. Even though they were all explorers trying to help other people, they seemed to have an ulterior motive for moving there that they wouldn't tell me about. I think the secret they were keeping eventually got out."

Barak gasped. "You think someone _killed_ them?"

"The shadow we saw...," I whispered.

"Is heading right for Harmony!" Barak finished.

Ekans hissed in surprise. "Let's move! Harmony may be next!"


	4. Chapter 4: Horror Vacui

The fortress loomed before us, blocking out the morning sun with its high-reaching towers of carved stone. It stood alone, challenging the elements with its weathered walls and battlements, determined to withstand the test of time. Indeed, if any city could, it would be Harmony. The wall appeared to be hewn out of a single stone because not a single crack or fault could be seen on the unadorned facets. The place was either the work of powerful magic or the masterpiece of extremely skilled masons.

Only a single entrance was visible- a large doorway carved into the wall capable of admitting a Wailord, should such a massive creature desire to live there. The scale of the doorway and city were so massive that Barak and I stood in awe of both, soaking in the majesty of unworldly craftsmanship. Ekans smiled at us the same way artists might while presenting their work.

"It's impressive isn't it? The Pokémon of Harmony call it the Wall of Mortality. Legend has it that the city was once a giant arena, used by the gods of land and sea to fight their last battle. The two titans could only see the mortality of the other, so they fought with such recklessness that the land was decimated by their powers."

Barak eagerly ate every word he heard. "So I'm guessing the god of land won, right? And that's why there's land here instead of an ocean?"

"Probably, but you know how legends are; there are multiple endings to that story. Besides, it's most likely that none of that ever happened anyway."

"But it's still possible?" Barak asked with a silly grin on his face. "You think we might see a legendary Pokémon sometime?"

I gave a condescending laugh. "If we do, you should ask it to join our team. I'm sure they'd _jump_ at the chance."

"But what if they did though? If we had a legendary on our side, imagine how easy it'd be to protect the world then."

I walked up to the city's entrance. "Already looking for the easy way out, are we? Let's get inside and talk about such nonsense later, alright?"

Even before I passed through the doorway, I could see miles similarly-shaped square buildings, all covered in various armaments. The streets were crowded with so many different Pokémon that I had trouble remembering all of the species' names. Scattered among the normal denizens, battle-clad soldiers went about their business, offering help to those that needed it and a stern warning to those that deserved it. Their armor wasn't impressive, in fact, most of the pieces looked makeshift in their design, probably using only available materials, but every soldier wore their armor with pride, making them seem much more impressive.

Rising above the low drone of competing voices, the sounds of blacksmiths and merchants could be heard vying for the crowd's valuable attention. For the most part though, most went about their business as if they were wearing blinders and a bridle to keep them in line. Those that still had some energy made up for everyone else with loud conversations and rambunctious activities, some even going so far as to dance and sing merry songs, despite the glares they constantly received.

Once I passed the giant doorway, I could see that the inside wall was not a blank and boring slab of rock like the outside made it out to be. Rather, it was a giant mural depicting intimidating monsters locked in combat. From what I could gather, the Pokémon were fighting some sort of war, but one side had a clear advantage. I couldn't recognize any of the legends, except Groudon and Kyogre, who were unsurprisingly fighting each other.

From what I could tell, there was a six-legged demon with dragon wings that led an army of bad guys against the good guys. As punishment, the monster was thrown into a bottomless pit in an act of good ol'-fashioned justice. But I saw a glaring problem: they left its wings intact. The war wasn't over.

The picture wasn't very well drawn, not that I could do much better. Still, it drew my attention and kept it, like a horrible accident that eventually became a landmark. I couldn't stand the idea of living every day overshadowed by a giant picture of a lynching, but I wouldn't have to worry about that. Thankfully, I was only visiting for the sake of its people.

But looking around, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. There weren't any dead bodies piling in the streets or mysterious shadows blowing sand everywhere. In fact, everything seemed completely normal. It was just another uneventful morning for everyone else.

Today would have been normal, if I hadn't met a crazy Chimchar that made me run around the desert all night. I would have been walking in a completely different direction, completely missing the town of Hope, and completely happy with the way things were going. Then I let my curiosity get the better of me. Lesson learned; next time, I'd think twice before helping others.

I turned to the tag-alongs that were behind me. Barak's eyes bounced from sight to sight as he soaked in the wonder. His walk had slowed to a crawl, probably too overcome with awe to move with necessary speed. Ekans watched both of our reactions.

"Hey," I said to get their attention. "It looks like nothing bad has happened. I'm gonna get some water and sleep, okay?"

"Wait a minute!" Barak shouted, as he ran ahead of me. "_I'm_ the leader, so _I_ should find us a place to stay. Follow me, guys."

Looking ahead, I saw that the crowd had started to take notice of us. Visitors were not a common thing apparently, judging by the stares we received. A few thought about waving to us, but when their hands went up, they quickly put them back down again. Maybe it was egotistical of me to believe, but I could have sworn that, out of the three of us, I received the oddest looks.

Their mistrust was equally returned. I could feel their eyes pushing down on my shoulders, weighing me down under the burden of observation. Even though I knew better, every laugh I heard felt directed toward me. I wasn't used to being watched, and I wasn't used to being in the city where potential danger was literally all around you.

"Excuse us!" Barak announced, as he began his wade through the crowd. Ekans followed closely behind, not wanting to lose sight of him. I stood aloof and watched them disappear, quite embarrassed to have walked together with them. As soon as they were completely immersed in the mess, I swerved to the right and moved between two plain-looking buildings.

I didn't want to cause trouble, not if I didn't have to. If I pushed my way through that herd, I would end up causing a lot of unnecessary injuries, unintentionally or not. I'd rather explore the city on my own anyway, if I had the choice. Barak and Ekans gave me that choice by turning their backs on me.

The alley provided me enough shade from the others to feel more in my element, even if the environment was completely different from what I was used to. The ground may not have been loose sand, but at least I wasn't spending every waking moment with a fool and his ideals.

Scuttling past the colorless buildings, I came to an empty road. This surprised me; I expected every street to be filled with bustling Pokémon in such a big city. The only sounds I could hear were the voices from the street running parallel to it, and those seemed to fade into indiscernible babble the further I moved from them.

The houses looked much the same, though very few of them had any weapons decorating their stone faces. If anything, the houses there looked even more plain, if such a thing were possible. No one stood in front of their stores or homes to greet one another; I couldn't even see anyone peering out of their windows. The street must not have gotten the same love the one next to it did.

As I went along though, the buildings gradually got bigger and more impressive in size and color. I'd even see a few people pass by on occasion, though the encounters were always brief and uninteresting. Much like the adjacent street, every passersby seemed to be so intensely focused on their daily activities that they ignored the rest of the world around them.

Even with the more impressive architecture, the buildings could only be described as practical, and not much more. If it weren't for the signs hanging above them, all of the businesses would look the same. Even with their unique signs they all looked the same; most of the signs were written with simple red or black writing and plastered on the sides of their buildings. It was almost as if the stores didn't care if you visited or not. In fact, judging by the closed doors and drawn windows, the stores would prefer that you to stay away.

After seeing business after business and home after home without any changes, I started getting bored. I hadn't even seen a single inn, despite passing by several businesses, so my tired mind began wandering. First I thought about the city, what I should do next, and finally settling on a new realization- I had the chance to leave Team Protectors forever.

The realization was both freeing and binding. While I had the freedom to do as I chose, to live as I'd always done, I knew I'd be breaking an important promise. If I wanted to start a new life, I could do so in the city where I could blend in and fade out, but I could also start a new life keeping my promises and at least trying to be a good person. And, despite walking in the opposite direction, nothing was stopping me from leaving the city and roaming the desert again either.

Very rarely are we given a choice with life-altering ramifications, but the decision before me was one of them. What sort of Pokémon was I? What sort of Pokémon did I want to be? They were possibly the most important questions to ask oneself, but I didn't have an answer to either of them. Or perhaps I was too afraid to admit them to myself.

If Barak truly believed that he was once a human, surely he thought about the same thing. Though I had my doubts about the complexity and depth of his thoughts, he had to be questioning his identity and purpose as well. Yet he never seemed to vocalize this conflict, so I couldn't be sure. In fact, he seemed perfectly alright with suddenly becoming a different person in a different world. He might have been lying, but what would he gain from lying to me about something he found embarrassing?

I decided to put off the decision. If I wanted to look for Barak and Ekans, I could look for them later. Hopefully they didn't waste their energy looking for me.

While I was consumed in thought, I noticed that the buildings around me had grown larger. In fact, the buildings in the distance seemed to be getting larger and larger the further away they were. Peering far into the horizon, I could see the building heights stair-stepping until a round, bulbous building dwarved the rest of them. Everything was built around the bulb, and the road I was on seemed to lead directly to it. From where I stood, it looked like a giant white onion was placed haphazardly in the middle of the city.

I don't know how I didn't notice it before, but when I saw it, I couldn't help but gawk. I must have staring stupidly at the unusual sight for several minutes before I felt a tug from behind. Someone was pulling on my backpack.

"What's in the bag?!" I heard a sharp voice hiss. Another yank sent me toppling backwards.

A rat's face pushed itself close to mine. A giant tooth was visible, along with the threat it carried. With a single claw pressing down on my pack, I was pinned to the ground, leaving me exposed to rat's most deadly weapon- its teeth.

"We finally found you, Cacnea. You thought you could run forever?"

I gasped. It was Team Drill! Rattata and Sandshrew must seen me last night and followed me all the way to Harmony! Were they still mad about Barak beating them up?

I couldn't see Rattata's partner, so I took the opportunity to escape. He underestimated my reach. Big mistake. Violently whipping my arm, I smashed it into his face, knocking him off balance. He yelped and stumbled back, unsure of how to approach me again. I used the opportunity to get to my feet and begin running in the opposite direction, hoping that he'd given up on me.

No such luck. I felt another tug from behind, but this one I was prepared for. I dropped the bag and continued running, shedding away the only leverage he had over me. To catch the rat off guard, I swerved and ran into the alleyway.

Suddenly a large creature burst from the ground, blinding me for a moment. When the dust settled, Sandshrew was standing there with a predatory look in her eyes. With her arms outstretched, she began staring me down. I turned to run away again, but saw that Rattata had already blocked my exit. I was trapped.

Sandshrew took an aggressive step toward me. "You dirty traitor! We should kill you here!"

"Cowards!" I screamed, pressing my back against the nearest wall. "Thieves! Murderers!"

Sandshrew folded her arms. She huffed, cocking her head to one side. "You've no right to talk, Cacnea. If it weren't for you, Drilbur would still be alive today."

I had no idea what they were talking about, and I didn't care. All I cared about was escaping, but that seemed impossible. My only chance was to stun them long enough to move past one of them. But to do that, I needed to move closer. Or, rather, I needed one of _them_ to move closer.

"No it's _your_ fault," I said, hoping to confuse her as much as she confused me. "Drilbur was trying to save you. _That's_ why he died."

"Don't listen to him!" Rattata exclaimed. Sandshrew payed him no mind. She took a few steps closer to me.

"What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke?!"

She took one more step, just barely out of my range. She picked up a piece of upturned dirt and threw it at me in anger. "Don't act like you knew her! She was my friend, not yours!"

Rattata approached us cautiously. "He's just trying to make you mad, Sand."

"Yeah," she agreed, turning to me. "Well, it's working."

With that, she launched herself at me and shoved me against the wall, knocking me off guard. She immediately started clawing at my face, grimacing as she did so. After a few seconds of blind fury, she pushed me away and retreated next to Rattata, howling in pain. She examined her claws, wincing.

Her reaction and attack showed me everything. I couldn't even feel her claws, but I knew she felt hers. She was weak- too weak to hurt me.

Gaining confidence, I got to my feet and stood across from them. Even if I wasn't stronger than the two of them combined, I could bluff my way out. "Didn't Barak teach you anything? You can't win, so don't even try."

Sandshrew looked up from her injured hand, glaring at me. "Who's Barak? Is that who you're working for?"

"The Chimchar that beat you up! He's one of our team members," I said with a forced grin.

The two thieves exchanged looks. "Chimchar didn't beat us up," Rattata said. "We chased him all the way back to Hope."

"_I_ think he was a coward," Sandshrew spat. "Just like you,_ Cacnea_."

I upheld my grin, despite the impact their words made. I refused to let them see the effect they were making.

Rattata nodded and began backing out of the alleyway. "C'mon, Sand, we know where the traitor is. Let's go back and report this."

"Yeah," she said, backing slowly away. After reaching exiting the alley, the two of them began their hasty retreat shouting, "We won't forget this! Team Drill never forgets!"

"But everyone forgets Team Drill," I said under my breath. I laughed quietly to myself, relieved to be alive for a bit longer.


	5. Chapter 5: Choices

The world was completely white, save the lonely Cacnea that stood bewildered in the quiet emptiness. Staring off into nothing, it slowly dawned on me that I was dreaming. The implications of this realization, however, took me much longer to understand. If I knew I was dreaming, that meant I could affect the dream.

I waved my hand about, trying to grab at something tangible in the colorless environment. This proved to be ineffective; I couldn't even feel the air around me, nor the ground beneath me. I really had no idea what I should do- the dreams I normally had were not usually within my power to control. On the contrary, whenever I dreamt, the events that transpired would occur as if I were non-existent. It was strange to think that I could make a difference in my dreams, but after a while, I found it stranger that I could not control what was in my mind in the first place.

As the orchestrator of the new world before me, I attempted to paint the emptiness with the fancies of my imagination. But try as I might, I could not muster the mind to perform its work and do so. The more I tried, the more alone I felt in the expanse of the white desert.

Breaking the silence, a voice echoed in my head, bringing relief from the isolation.

"Stop her. Stop... Giratina."

Then the voice faded, leaving behind only the echos of its enigmatic message. I waited for more, but the silence made its return, along with the loneliness it brought.

I couldn't make sense out of it. Even though I knew it was just a dream, I kept repeating the words over and over. But who was Giratina and why did she need to be stopped? Did it mean anything? I didn't have any of the answers, and worse, I didn't know where to look for them.

I kept reciting those words until my world of white faded to black.

* * *

"Hey Ekans, look! He's awake!"

I awoke to Barak's face uncomfortably close to mine- an expression of concern written all over it. Ekans was to my right, watching me with a mixture of fascination and worry. The two of them kept staring at me until I groggily acknowledged them.

"What're you guys doing?"

Ekans was the first to respond. "You looked like you were in pain so we came to help you. Are you alright?"

I shakily stood up and tried to get a grip on my surroundings. I must have passed out in the alley where I met Team Drill, but I couldn't remember ever doing so. Barak backed up and gave me some space- something I needed more than anything. I gave them a forced smile and a nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How'd you two find me?"

"You were screaming," Barak said. "All we had to do was follow your voice."

"Team Drill..." I recalled. "They attacked me."

"Did they take your bag too?" Ekans asked.

"I dunno. Why don't you go check? I think I dropped it while I was running."

I turned to the Chimchar. "Barak and I need to talk anyway."

Ekans nodded. He was the new guy on the team, and being excluded every now and then came with the territory. From what little I knew of him, he didn't seem the type to be resentful over a bit of errand-running, especially if he was about to be the team's second most-important member. Still, I felt sorry for him. He couldn't help what Barak did, and to him, it might seem that everyone was leaving him.

After the snake disappeared, I glared at Chimchar. "Why did you come here?" I demanded.

Barak looked confused. "To help you, silly. Why are you so angry?"

I snorted. "No, why did you come _here_, to this city?"

"Same reason you did: to make sure everything was alright. Why?"

"_What a good person_," I remarked with a sneer. "Don't give me that nonsense, monkey. You're not even brave enough to fight a couple of dirty rats."

Barak's face told me everything. All of the lies came crashing down on him at once, and the weight on his shoulders was visible. He lowered his head and waited for my verbal barrage. I was more than happy to give it.

"I knew you were a liar from the moment you called yourself a human. You wanted to be special. You wanted to be the hero. Guess what? You're not special, and you're not a hero either. You're even more of a loser than me. At least I'm not a hypocrite."

"_Shut up_," Chimchar growled. His fists and lower lip were trembling.

"No, I have something to say and you're going to hear it. You didn't just lie to me; you lied to Ekans. He was even beginning to admire you too."

"Since when did you start caring about Ekans?!" Chimchar spat. "Ever since I met you, you've acted like a jerk to everyone, including me. You act like you're only one that matters. Now you're angry because I didn't throw my life away? Are you serious?"

Chimchar inhaled deeply. "I really wanted you to be my friend. But if you hate me that much, I'm not gonna stop you from leaving. It's your choice."

I looked at the bandage on Barak's head. It was a constant reminder of the pain I'd caused him. I sighed and leaned against the wall. "I don't hate you, I just hate being lied to. I never wanted to join your group in the first place, and finding out that it was founded on lies only makes it worse. You and Ekans will do fine without me."

I turned away from him. "I don't think I belong in Protectors anyway. I'm not the hero type."

It was true- despite my insults, Barak was better suited for the hero role. I wasn't invested in the well-being of those around me, any more than nature was in me. I was just passing through.

"That's silly; anyone can be a hero," he said. "I don't think either of us are there though."

Barak mimicked my posture and looked down at the hole Sandshrew had made earlier. Neither of us spoke for a while, which gave me some time to think. In retrospect, I might have overreacted, but I was tired, not only of Barak, but of the city, the people, the fighting, the fear, and seeing dead things everywhere I went. I'd had enough.

"Hey, Thorn? I'm sorry okay? I was afraid of being trapped in this world all by myself, so I lied. I shouldn't have lied to you."

In my relief, I replied much the same way. "And I shouldn't have sent you to face Team Drill on your own. You weren't the only one who was afraid."

Barak's gave me an appreciative glance and went back to looking at the hole in the ground. I did the same, staring at the molehill with awkward silence. As I did, I began wondering what I should do next. The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to leave Team Protectors. After all, what was out there for me? Did I want to live my entire life in a giant sandbox running from everything I saw?

In Protectors, at least we had each other to rely on. Even if they showed up late, they still arrived to help me when Drill came. That sort of support was invaluable.

On the other hand, I was already on my way to severing that connection. What I said to Barak would stay with him forever, and his harsh words with me. But was that sufficient reason to abandon a potential ally?

I was surprising myself, thinking that way. Before last night, I wouldn't have hesitated to leave Ekans and Barak behind. They weren't my problem, any more than I was theirs. But after seeing that shadow in the sky, I had something to chase; I had something to move toward. I used to roam because I had no other choice, but now that the choice was given to me, I was unsure what to do. After being denied choices all of my life, I'd forgotten how to choose.

"Hey, Thorn?"

"What is it, Barak?" I asked, interrupted from my thoughtful trance.

"Do you think Ekans might need a little help? He doesn't have any hands to carry your bag with."

I paused. I hadn't actually thought about that when I sent him away; all I was thinking about was getting rid of him for a short while. Why didn't Ekans tell me that he couldn't carry anything?

We walked out of the alley and into the street and began looking around. I couldn't see Ekans or my bag anywhere, which concerned me. Barak began checking behind buildings and calling for him, his voice growing more and more shrill with every failed attempt. I moved in the opposite direction, checking every alley and crevice for a spot of purple.

At last I saw it- the glimmer I was searching for. I could see my bag, lying in the middle of the alleyway, ripped open and shredded apart, its contents spilt on the ground. I moved toward it but stopped dead in my tracks with I saw him.

"Barak! Get over here!"

I ran to him as fast as I could. "Ekans?_ Ekans_!"

A low groan escaped from his throat, its meaning abundantly clear. He was in pain and needed help.

I heard Barak gasp behind me. "What happened?!"

"I don't know. Talk to him and make sure he doesn't fall asleep. I'll get some bandages."

I tore into the bag and looked for the scarves I'd packed earlier. The whole thing had been ransacked and every bit of food taken, but thankfully the scarves were still there. I pulled them out and threw them at Barak.

"Wrap these firmly around the wound. Make sure he can still breathe."

I crawled up to Ekans. "It's gonna be alright. You'll be fine."

"Team Drill..." he began.

"I know. It's okay. You're gonna make it, Ekans."

"Drake."

"Huh?"

"My name... it's Drake."

He let his head droop. "I don't think... I can hold on much longer. I'm sorry... I was such a burden to you."

"You're not a burden, Drake," Chimchar said, gritting his teeth as he gently lifted his teammate to wrap the bandage underneath him. Drake winced in pain. I saw him started to fade.

"Stay with us!" I shouted at him. "Don't give in yet!"

"I... _can't_," he sighed. With a final whimper, he slipped out of consciousness and into a world of his own. His chest expanded and contracted in bursts of painful breaths, telling me that he was alive, alive but unwell.

There were a few seconds of silence before the numbness wore off. Then everything hit me at once.

I threw the torn-up bag away from me. I felt so useless. His injury was my fault, and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't even comfort him in his time of need- I never even bothered to learn his name, so what good were my words? _I _was the one who sent him away, just like I did to Barak.

Something welled up inside of me, an emotion I hadn't felt in years. I squinted my eyes and began pacing back and forth, breathing heavily as thoughts swirled around my head. Seeing Drake's limp figure and empty eyes stirred up such raw passion, pushing me to increase my pacing until I couldn't contain myself anymore.

"I'm staying in Protectors," I said with a new assertion. "I'll become an explorer and stop bad Pokémon like Team Drill. As long as I'm alive, I'll make sure evil isn't."

Barak didn't respond. He kept wrapping Drake in the scarf, completely focused on his work. After finishing, he turned to look at me. There were tears forming in his eyes as he spoke.

"He won't ever be the same, Thorn. I think his back is broken."

I grimaced at those words. "He can't go on adventures with us, can he?"

He shook his head. "He might not even be able to live on his own. We need to find a doctor. Fast."


	6. Chapter 6: Necessity

"So you're friends with Ekans? I suppose I could let you see him... but only for a little while."

The large, pink creature pushed aside the curtain flap and let us pass through. Even though she was three times our size, she seemed to be the most nonthreatening person I'd ever met, and friendly at that. I had no trouble trusting her as I entered the room, but I grew increasingly nervous when I saw the injured Pokémon lying on the cots.

The injuries I saw didn't look serious, not from what I could tell, and the Pokémon burdened with them seemed to be taking their inconveniences well. A few of them even smiled at us as we passed by, prompting Barak to wave at them. The room was mostly quiet, except for a few Pokémon gambling and socializing in the corner, except for one individual. As soon as he heard us enter the room, he made a beeline for the pink one.

"Hey Chansey! How come I never got any eggs?"

The speaker was a purple snail-like creature with two stubs protruding from his front that resembled arms. Two large antennae stuck out of his head, twitching occasionally as he picked up different sounds around the room. He had green eyes that were glazed over and lifeless, signaling to me that if he wasn't already blind, he was well on his way. But on his path toward Chansey, he seemed able to adjust to new obstacles without having to feel them, leading me to believe he could use his other senses to compensate.

Chansey gave him the same regard as a paper cut. "What is it, Sliggoo?"

"I heard from Lombre that you gave your eggs to everyone except me. When's my turn, huh?"

She gave him a blank look and continued walking as if nothing had happened. We followed behind, unsure of what to make of her reaction. Sliggoo seemed just as confused, but didn't press the issue and quietly returned to his corner.

Chansey held up the next curtain for us to pass under. We walked in cautiously.

The room was much darker than the one before, and the air much more hazy, making the atmosphere completely different from the one previous. The first thing I saw was a Ledian with three arms, lying on the bed and covered in bandages, startling me long enough for him to notice my reaction. He gave me an apologetic look, almost making me feel guilty for looking at him that way. I felt sorry for him, having to live every day regretting the decisions leading up to the incident. And worse, he'd probably receive my kind of reaction from strangers for the rest of his life.

The rest of the room wasn't much better. There were Pokémon wrapped liked mummies to protect their damaged skin, others with patches over their eyes, and still others surrounded by buckets of off-color body fluids. As we moved deeper into the room, the air continued to grow thick and smokey and must have smelled horrendous, seeing as Barak instinctively covered his nose and grimaced as he followed. It was one of the very few times I was thankful not to have a nose.

Unlike in the other room, the place wasn't quiet or peaceful. Almost everyone was groaning, and those that could were tossing and turning in their cots. There was something distinctively wrong with the place, as if death itself was sitting in the corner waiting, like a Mandibuzz flying in circles around its prey, biding its time. It was unnerving to say the least, and if I didn't feel partly responsible for Drake's injury, I would have left and never come back.

Chansey led us to a low-set cot surrounded by balled-up used bandages and a soiled mattress. She pointed to its resident, Drake, lying there with a saddened expression on his face. His body was straightened and held there with an awkward brace and a few pillows to keep his body level. On either side of him were two Pokémon that were even worse off, one of them, a Linoone, had his lower body mangled and torn so much, his legs were barely attached to him.

When he saw us, he tried to sit up and smile at us, but was held down by the protective brace. He was still able to pull off a smile though, but it quickly died. We stood next to him, unsure of what to say or do. Chansey picked up some of the waste nearby and walked away saying, "Only a short visit. He needs his rest."

When she was gone, Drake spoke to us, his voice slightly hoarse. "Hey, I never got the chance to thank you guys. You saved my life there."

Barak shook his head. "I just wish we could have helped you sooner. We're so sorry."

"How are you, by the way?" I asked.

"I'll survive," he said. "Chansey says I've shown surprising improvement thanks to her... her help."

"It looks like she stuck you on a bed and left you."

"Thorn!" Barak scolded.

Drake didn't seem to mind. "No, she's done more than that. Sometimes she'll feed me."

"Like, berries?" I asked.

"No... sometimes she'll give me... other things."

His reaction told me a lot, and I wasn't the type to avoid addressing the issue. "She gives you her eggs, doesn't she?"

He hesitantly nodded. "I didn't want to, but she said it would help me. And they're so good, I can't stop eating them."

Barak laughed. "Hey, it's alright. I used to eat eggs all the time; it's not as if they're alive or anything."

"But that's what snakes do! They eat eggs and little animals! I used to pride myself that I wasn't like them, that I overcame my cannibalistic origins, but now..."

"That's not what makes you special, Drake. You aren't part of Protectors because you're a vegetarian. You're part of us because you're a good Pokémon and good Pokémon need to stick together."

"But I don't want to live at the expense of others. I already feel bad enough having to live off your kindness."

"Listen, Drake," I said. "Someone has to get the raw end of every deal. If you don't eat animals, you'll have to eat my fellow plants. You shouldn't feel guilty just because you're higher on the food chain or because people like helping each other."

Drake sighed. "I know, it's just... I don't want to always be taking. I want to contribute and help. I wanted to be a part of the team."

"You'll always be part of the team," Barak assured.

Drake smiled. "Thanks, but I know I'm not really helping anyone."

We paused. A few groans filled the silence. Then Drake spoke again. "Well enough about me, what about you two? I hear you've joined Harmony's army."

The subject change gave Barak a little lift. "Yeah, we're officially explorers now. After Thorn showed them the badge, they let you stay at the hospital too. Apparently only army explorers can stay here."

I frowned. Barak didn't mention the fact that I had to impersonate someone else to even join. The badge we were carrying belonged to another Cacnea, who just so happened to be forming an explorer team as well. Each of the badges were unique to their respective team leaders, and thankfully I'd taken another Cacnea's. That meant, according to them, I had visited Hope, found a Chimchar partner, and returned to Harmony to join the army.

Thankfully no one asked any questions. I don't think anyone cared anyway, not as long as they had new recruits. It was easy for me to lie to the recruiters, and even easier to accept their help, but Barak had a hard time trying to act natural. He felt it was wrong to steal a dead person's identity, but knew he had no other choice, not if he wanted to save Drake. Life or death situations tend to change a person's view on things.

We agreed to run back to Hope and bury the body before someone else found it. First we wanted to stop by and wish Drake well. We wouldn't see him for a while, so we needed to get the visit out of the way before anything else. Both of us agreed not to tell Drake though, so he wouldn't feel any more guilty.

"Looks like we're real explorers now," Drake said with a smile. "I guess if it weren't for your dream, Barak, I wouldn't be here now."

"None of us would be," I said with purposeful ambiguity.

Chansey came back into the room. Siddling past the cots and spilt mess, she approached us. "It's time for you two to go."

Barak and I did so, waving goodbye to Drake as we left. As soon as we entered the other room, we took a deep breath of fresh air. Sliggoo, the snail-creature from before, heard us leaving and stood between us and the exit.

"You guys have a minute?"

I didn't like the slime guy, especially if he was determined to be a nuisance."Start talking," I commanded.

"Woah, no need to get all grumpy with me. All I wanted to do was introduce myself."

"Good to meet you then," Barak said, putting his hand out. "I'm Barak, a member of Team Protectors."

"Barak? That's a funny name," he said with a chuckle. He either ignored Barak's hand, couldn't see it, or was unable to shake it with his stubby arms. "My name's Slugger. I'm on a no-name team, but I want to join another one, preferably a strong one. You guys famous or something?"

"You've been introduced," I growled. "Are you going to move now?"

Slugger looked down at me, then back at Barak. "Who's this guy?" he asked, gesturing to me.

"That's Thorn. He's my friend."

For once, I didn't grunt or roll my eyes at the title he'd given me. I came to accept the liberal use of the word "friend" and was even beginning to believe he meant it. He might not have fully understood the meaning, but the sincerity was there.

"Nice friend," the slime said with undisguised sarcasm. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll see each other soon. You're staying here in the headquarters, right?"

"Yup, with all the other new explorers. According to the recruiter, we're in Bronzong's division."

"Good luck," he said, sidestepping to give us room to pass. "Maybe you two can change Bronzong for the better. His division is a complete joke to everyone else."

I was finished with the conversation and loudmouthed individual. I pushed aside the curtain and stepped into the hall.

* * *

"This is so gross," I heard him grumble.

I grunted. "It's just a dead plant, Barak. You see them all the time in the desert."

"You see dead people too, but that doesn't make it any- Ow! He keeps stabbing me!"

I rolled my eyes. "Then stop touching its thorns, stupid. We just need to drag it a little farther before we can start digging."

I looked back at the body. Normally Cacnea were green and vibrant in their hue, but this one was brown and dried, and the flower on its head was completely wilted. Its face was stuck in a neutral position, staring off into the sky above as we dragged it through the sand. Barak did everything he could to not look at its eyes, likely some form of superstition at work.

Tugging on its arms had become tedious, back-wrenching even. I had no idea that Cacnea were so heavy- that I was so heavy. I was tempted to cut it open and let some of the water spill out, but I didn't think Barak would appreciate that, even to save our backs.

It was already late afternoon and we still needed to get back to Harmony to get some rest. The walk there would take several hours, time we really didn't have. It might have been an unpleasant job, but we needed to get it done quickly.

We let the arms drop and caught our breaths. Somehow, we were able to drag the Cacnea behind its house. All that was left was digging the hole, burying the thing, and getting out as fast as we could.

"Thorn?"

"Hm?"

"Doesn't this feel wrong? It's like we're trying to cover up a murder."

Ignoring him, I began shoveling with my crude hands. Chimchar bent down on his knees and followed my lead, scooping up loose sand between his palms. He kept his lips pressed together, expressing his disagreement with the situation. He looked like he was trying to contain his emotions, but they burst out again shortly after.

"Well, doesn't it?" he insisted.

"No. It doesn't. You have no idea what you're talking about."

I increased the intensity of my digging efforts.


	7. Chapter 7: Settling In

The place was homely, welcoming us with its carpeted flooring and soft furniture. Two fluffy beds sat in the corners of the room, made to look as if they'd never been used before. In the center of the room was a short-set table- the perfect height for someone like me. If I weren't used to the gritty sand beneath me and the open world before me, I would have felt right at home. Still, with the comfort the room promised me, I could see myself getting used to the soft and secure luxuries.

I could feel heavy feet stomping away from us, shaking the ground through sheer weight alone. Ursaring, the bear Pokémon that kept guard, didn't seem to pleased with us arriving in the middle of the night. His scowl was the first greeting we received when we got back from Hope, and the last thing we saw before we entered our new room. I had no doubt that we would be the cause of even more stomping in the future as well. People with bad attitudes tend to find reasons for maintaining their attitudes, no matter how silly they may seem.

The bulbous building was so large that was easy to get lost in it. According to the recruiter we encountered, it used to be called The Dome, until it became headquarters for city officials. After that, it was simply called Headquarters. It was home to not only explorers, but also the police, the prisoners, the king, and the king's guards. It was an important place, which was why so many soldiers and psychics were posted inside and outside the thick walls.

The explorers lived in the lower level, just above the prisoners, just to show where they were in society. The floor was divided up to allow each division its own breathing room and privacy, even though they were all connected by unlocked doors. The Bronzong division had a commons area for meetings, a hallway, and multiple rooms connected to both. Our room was connected to the hallway, the third door on the right and the only one without any decorations on its facet.

As a whole, the explorers didn't seem to have it too badly. Not only were their rooms furnished and neat, but the hallway and commons were just as soft and comfortable, with enough space to potentially tire myself out running across the room. The commons even had a low-set table just like our room, except that one was much larger, with a detailed map of Harmony and the surrounding area on it.

I lifted my hands into the air, as high as I could, grunting as I did so. Then I let them drop with a sigh. Barak regarded my action with interest.

"Were you stretching?" he asked, hoisting himself up to his new bed.

I shrugged. "No, it's just something I do. Habit mostly."

"Oh," he said, as if he understood. His face told me he didn't, but we were both too tired to bother explaining anything anyway. Even with plenty of rest and energy though, I don't think I would have told him. The history behind my habits were best untold.

"Well," he said in a conclusive voice. "I'm going to bed. I've already claimed this one, so you get the other one."

Slipping under the covers, he turned over on his side, nestling himself in his most comfortable fashion. I stood off to the side, lost in my own thoughts. I wasn't interested in the bed I was given, any more than I was interested in decorating the place. It might have been my new home, but it didn't feel like home. It felt too much like a temporary gift- a gift I didn't deserve in the first place.

In my mind, an explorer should get used to sleeping on the ground, and many more uncomfortable things too. Not only would the training be uncomfortable, but the jobs and Pokémon were expected to be dangerous as well. But that was a part of the calculated cost of joining the army as an explorer- a cost that we were willing to pay to save Drake.

I noticed some movement in my peripheral. It looked like a wisp of discolored air rising up from Barak's bed. But then I saw what it really was- smoke.

"Barak!" I shouted. "Your tail is still on fire!"

The Chimchar jolted and jumped out of bed almost instantly. He hurriedly beat at his blanket, hoping to put out any flames he might have caused. Thankfully his stupidity hadn't cost him his new bed and if there were any flames, they were quickly extinguished.

He stood there, hand on chest, catching his breath. "Thanks," he gasped, examining the blanket and mattress for holes. "I totally forgot about my tail. I'm not used to having it yet."

"Get used to it before you kill someone," I cautioned.

"Yeah, I'll try to be more careful," he said, fiddling with the blanket in his hands. "It's just... I thought Chimchar's flames went out when they were sleeping."

"Are you being serious?"

"Don't they?"

"You have to put it out yourself. Pinch the flames between your fingers before going to sleep. Surely you've done that before..."

"No, I haven't. I already told you, I was a human, okay? It's not easy suddenly becoming a Pokémon in a strange world."

I still didn't believe his story, but I wasn't interested in arguing either. Rather than replying, I turned to face the door, stretched my arms out like a scarecrow, and let my mind and body begin its rest. Slowly, the world drifted further and further from me.

Behind me, I could hear the echo of Barak's voice. At first, he tried to get my attention, but after finding his efforts futile, wished me a good night. Then he was quiet, allowing me to drift off into a world of my own.

* * *

I looked around, bewildered by the strange world before me. It reminded me very much of the dream I had before, in its lifelessness and loneliness, but differed greatly in appearance. I could see an endless ocean stretched out beneath me and an endless blue sky above me, but everywhere I looked I could not find a single living being. I was alone again.

If plants could go to the bathroom, I would have assumed a dream about an entire world of water was my body's way of dropping hints. Unfortunately, I could offer little explanation for the lucid dream I was experiencing. I would have to think of my own reasons, or discover them as the dream progressed.

To pass the time, I watched the waves as they gently rolled over one another, moving in what seemed like random directions. Their movements were hypnotic in such an empty expanse- I could watch nothing else. But what else was there to watch? At least the ocean moved. The sky didn't even have the sun or clouds in it- it was a blank mass above me.

Lulled by the repetitive, rocking motion the water made, I began to wonder if it were possible to fall asleep in a dream. If so, what sort of dreams would one have? And if awoken from one dream, would there have to be a second awakening to be sure that the world was real?

I jolted, startling myself and sending the shivers running down my body. Going down that train of thought rarely led anywhere positive, and I was about to dive head-first into that mess.

Thoroughly finished with the direction my dream was taking, I decided try and take matters into my own hands again. But like before, when I moved, I didn't seem to get anywhere. What was there besides ocean and sky? And for that matter, what was I even walking on? I stopped walking and stood, unsure of what to do. Then I heard a voice.

"Stop her. She'll destroy us all if you don't do something."

I recognized the voice- it was the same one from before, the one that was trying to warn me about Giratina. I still had no idea who that was, and a second dream about water certainly didn't change that. But the voice seemed important, or rather, it acted as if what it said was important. With that in mind, I listened carefully, trying to note what it said to hopefully remember everything after I woke up.

"What are you talking about?!" I shouted to the sky, where I assumed the voice came from.

I listened carefully, hoping to hear something besides vague instructions. There was a long pause, long enough that I had given up on hearing anything else. Then I heard a single word, a word that confused me even more.

"Graveyard..."

And that was it. I didn't hear anything else after that, except the waves and wind.

* * *

My eyes shot open. How long had I been sleeping? Without any windows in the room, I couldn't tell where the sun was, which concerned me. Usually, the sun woke me up in the morning, and signaled the beginning of night. Without an open sky, my sleeping habits would become erratic if I weren't careful.

I looked at Barak. He was still asleep, and soundly so. I decided not to disturb him, just in case it was still the middle of the night.

Carefully opening the door, I peered out into the hallway. After hearing the door open, a surprised face was there to greet me. Litleo, the fire lion cub Pokémon, at first regarded me with an air of caution, but then with a great amount of fascination. She had a tuft of fire-like hair that resembled the beginnings of a horse's mane on her head that began to glow after she saw me. Her brown fur and beige paws bristled when she saw me, a common reaction to seeing a ball of painful thorns, but relaxed when her initial fear passed.

Generally, I'm not one to try and make conversation with a lion, but I saw no other way to get the information I needed. I opened the door wider.

"Hey, do you know what time it is?" I asked.

In response to my question, she looked over her shoulder dramatically before saying, "What time d'ya want it to be?"

"I want it to be whatever you tell me it is," I said with a grunt.

Litleo extended one of her paws toward me with a cheeky grin on her face. "Then it doesn't really matter what I say, does it? I'll always be right."

She put her paw back to its more natural position and took a few steps back. "See, here in Bronzong's division, _we_ get to decide if and when we do anything at all. The sun and moon aren't gonna stop us from doing what we want."

"That's crazy talk," I countered. "Since when do soldiers act on their own?"

"Since Bronzong took over. He believes that rules muddle morality, or something like that. Basically, he wants everyone to do the right thing of their own free will but doesn't do anything if they don't. Because we're the Home Guard in a time of peace, it's worked out so far."

"But..."

"But if Harmony is invaded, we're all screwed. So ya better hope that doesn't happen," she said with a facetious grin. "Oh, I'm Flare, the Litleo. That should be easy to remember, right? Because I'm a fire type?"

"I can remember that," I said to pacify her rambling. "So what do the explorers do then? Surely-"

"Woah!" she suddenly shouted. She craned her neck to look inside the room and saw Barak still sleeping there. I was tempted to slam the door on her face after that, but knew that would achieve little in the long run.

"Is that another fire type I see?" she asked, pointing to Barak. "Tell me that's a Chimchar."

"Yes, he's a Chimchar. He's trying to sleep right now..."

"Say no more," she said, turning around. "Tell me when he wakes up so I can show you guys around. Sorry I was so loud, but I didn't know you had a _fire_ type with you. That's fantastic."

With that, she went bounding down the hallway, pouncing on invisible prey as she went. I closed the door and sighed. I hoped she was right about Bronzong. If she was, Slugger wasn't kidding when he said our division being a joke. But joke or not, I certainly didn't mind having more freedom.

I could hear Barak stirring. After rubbing his eyes, he sat up and stretched. Then he looked at me strangely.

"Would you like to save your game?" he asked, as if it were the most normal question in the world. His face had the same look as someone who'd just told a bad joke. If what he said was a joke, it went over my head. I replied with a blank look.

Barak, after seeing my reaction, laughed and jumped out of bed.

"You wouldn't get it."


	8. Chapter 8: Day 1

Every few steps, Flare would look back at us, checking to make sure we were still following her. We were, but at a much slower pace than she would have preferred.

"This is Team Friend's room over here," she said, pointing to the door across from ours. We gave it a second glance for her sake. Hanging on the door by a nail, a little bell and ribbon dangled down, giving the door its own personality. Besides that, it was exactly like our own.

The team name didn't sound all that intimidating, not for an explorer team. "Team Friend" doesn't exactly inspire terror. But "Team Protectors" wasn't the best name either, and I was partly responsible for the name, in so far as I didn't object to it.

Flare beat on the door with her paw and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey Zip! Zap! Get yer butts out here! We have a new team that wants to meet ya!"

Her loud voice made me flinch. Barak put out a hand to try to stop her. "Oh don't do that, Flare. They might be sleeping."

"They had their chance to sleep," she said dismissively. "This is important."

She went back to shouting and pounding on the door, this time with both of her front paws. The noise she made seemed to get louder and louder and more obnoxious with each passing second. Thankfully, the door opened, causing her to stop. If the Pokémon weren't there to answer, she might have woken up everyone in Harmony with her rambunctious behavior.

An odd rabbit-like Pokémon appeared before us, looking at us blankly. Her ears, cheeks, and tail were all blue, but otherwise, her fur was a solid cream color. Like a Pikachu, her cheeks were round and gaudy, out of place on her face, but had a single noticeable feature on them: two separate horizontal lines were imprinted on each of them, like stamps on a silly face.

Her tail was even stranger. It seemed to be a blue block awkwardly stuck to the back of her, which moved as any tail would. Just like her cheeks, it seemed to resemble a horizontal line. The stubby attachment looked rather silly to me, but I had little room to talk with my own stubby legs.

Without her ears, she would have stood half as tall, although her slumped shoulders and drooping head made it very difficult to judge this. Her posture was less than confident, that much was certain, but the reason for her slump was not so much. She looked exhausted, and getting woken up by an annoying lion cub didn't help with that.

She looked at Flare. "Hey, it's you," she said with less emotion than an instruction manual. "What is it?"

Flare pushed past her and ran into the room. "I'm here to visit, frowny face. Where's Plusle?"

"Here I am!" another voice called from inside. "I'm hiding under the bed!"

Flare jumped to one of the beds and looked underneath. "What're you doing under there?"

"Hiding!" he burst out before a fit of giggles. "Minun was playing hide and seek with me."

The blue-tailed Pokémon gave a long sigh. Somehow, her slumped shoulders were able to droop even more, as if suddenly burdened with the weight of the entire world. She took a few steps into the room before replying. "I don't like playing hide and seek. It's just another excuse for people to avoid me."

Flare rolled her eyes. "Yer such a downer, Minun. Try to lighten up every once in a while, hmm?"

Another rabbit, similar in appearance to Minun, crawled out from under the bed and jumped into the air, spinning as he did so. He appeared to be a much more affable individual than his counterpart, judging by his energetic entrance and apparent smile. The most notable difference between them, however, was the red fur that replaced all of Minun's blue fur and the t-shaped tail that replaced Minun's simpler line-shaped tail.

"You look like you need a hug," he said. The red rabbit waddled up to Minun and gave her a squeeze, a gesture that was not returned. Then he took a step back and asked, "Did that make you feel better? Are you happy now?"

"I used to get hugs like that, back when I was loved."

Flare gave a forceful sigh. "Good grief. Yer gonna meet the newbies right? They're standing right there, waiting for you to talk to them."

Minun and her friend looked at us, putting us on the spot. Barak waved to reduce the awkwardness as best he could. "Oh, don't worry about it," he assured. "You guys look like you're having fun."

"I'm not," Minun pointed out.

"I am!" her partner announced as he waddled over to us. From close up, I could see that his cheeks, unlike the ones on Minun, had a cross on them instead of a horizontal line.

Pointing to his chest, the Pokémon introduced himself. "I'm Zip. I'm a Plusle and I have forty friends. But now that I've met you, I have two more."

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Barak, the Chimchar. I don't have many friends yet, but I'm always willing to make more."

"Hey Barak!" he greeted with a wave. Then he turned to me. "And what's your name, friend?"

Last time I was asked that, I wasn't prepared to answer. This time was different. It may have been an arbitrary name, but I'd grown attached to it regardless. So as I said it, I said it with a certain amount pride, having made the name my own.

"I'm Thorn, the Cacnea."

Zip gave me a similar greeting. "Hi Thorn!"

He was about to introduce his blue friend, did a double-take and looked at me again. He tilted his head to the side with one of his eyebrows raised inquisitively.

"Are you okay, friend? Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine," I said quickly.

Minun spoke again. "Everyone is in pain, but not everyone admits it. The answer to that question proves how honest you are."

I was taken aback by her statement. I saw some truth to what she said, even if I disapproved of her vocalizing it. She was the bluntest person I'd ever met, and the most negative at that. Her honesty was refreshing in a room filled with excess energy, even if it was unwelcome.

"I don't think that's right," Barak said with a shake of his head.

Flare jumped up on one of the beds and began bouncing on it. "I agree with Barak. I think you're just being stupid, Zap."

Zip put his hands up to his ears. "No! Nice words everyone!" he cried.

"Sorry, we'll be going now," the Litleo said, jumping down from the bed and heading to the door. "Just wanted to introduce you guys to each other, that's all."

"And I'm glad you did," he said with a smile. "I'll see you guys later today, okay?"

"Unless they fail their first mission," Flare said with a mischievous grin.

* * *

"It's too bad everyone else already left. Guess you'll have to meet them tonight, huh? Oh! I nearly forgot! This thing is the noticeboard, where you'll find all the jobs you can take."

We stood in the common room with a white billboard stretched out before us, covering the wall with hand-made notes written with and printed on various colors. The board was covered in so many pieces of stationary that it looked like a scaly creature made out of paper. All of the notes were jobs of some sort, varying from heavy lifting to assisting in a manhunt. But as I looked closer, all of them had the same handwriting.

To the right of the billboard was a single door, which apparently led to Bronzong's office. Flare advised against going in there, saying that Bronzong was "just too weird", so I made a mental note to explore that room when the lion cub wasn't around.

"So just pick up a note and do the job, simple enough? The reward's written on the bottom, by the way."

Both of us took a step forward and began examining the notes. As we did so, Flare continued her lecture.

"Want my advice? Pick the colorful notes. Those have the best rewards."

"Why don't they organize these?" Barak asked. "They should put these in order from those that need help the most to those that need it the least."

She looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Isn't that what explorers do?" Barak insisted.

Flare shrugged. "If they really needed help that badly, they'd offer more. Besides, if ya want to buy cool gear, yer gonna have to take the jobs that give coins and gummis."

I looked at the jobs. Each of them had short descriptions as their titles like "Bad Pokémon", "Danger!" or "Flying Type Needed". Underneath their titles was a description of the requirements, the client's name, where to meet the client, and the reward given. Nowhere on these notes were the risks, the level of difficulty, time constraints, or the urgency of these jobs in question. In my mind, those seemed like the only important factors to consider, but I'd never been part of an explorer team before, so I had no idea if any of the other teams felt the same way.

"What about this one?" Barak asked, pointing to a white piece of paper. Its title read "Lost Friend" while its description offered only vague instructions on how to reach this friend. Instead of naming a Pokémon as the client, a few question marks were scrawled in instead. The reward wasn't much, only 500 coins and a Cheri berry, but Barak seemed to set his mind on completing it, and I wasn't about to disagree.

Barak pressed his finger on the note and looked back at Flare. "So what do I do with this piece of paper? Do I take it with me?"

"Which one did you choose?" she asked, running up to see our choice. But then she took one look at the note and huffed.

"Don't take that job, Barak. That looks like a trap."

"A trap? Does that mean bad Pokémon can post jobs too?"

"Anyone can post a job, silly. Be smart and be safe, okay? You should never take work from an unknown source. It's impossible to track them down and get your payment or revenge without a name or species."

I looked up at the board again for a decent job. The more I scanned them, the fewer viable ones there seemed to be. Some required very specific knowledge or experience, while some requests were odd, subjective, or likely to be outside of our comfort zones, like "curing loneliness" as one of the clients put it. As my eyes darted from paper to paper, I began to realize why there were so many unfulfilled requests.

Then my eyes fell on a plain white note. I only needed to read one word before I knew I had to take that job, no matter what the job's requirement or reward was.

"We should do this one," I suggested, pointing to the job that had caught my eye.

Both of them examined my selection, confused as to why I was so decisive about such a plain-looking task. The description asked for explorers to check out some suspicious noises and to report any Pokémon they saw. The task sounded simple enough, and the client's name was there, making the job much less suspicious than the previously suggested one. It promised only 200 coins and a "good luck charm" in exchange- a meager amount compared to the other rewards offered, but considering the nature of the job, it seemed good enough.

But that's not what interested me. It was the title that caught my attention.

"Looks good enough," Barak said, looking to Flare for confirmation. She gave it with a nod of her head.

"Yeah, that seems alright for beginners like you. Make sure you don't go in over your heads though, know what I mean? Like, don't fight anyone tough, alright?"

"So do we take this paper down and give it to someone? Or do we keep it or what?"

"Nah, just write your name or put a paw print on it or something. That way, if you don't return to your room by dinner, we'll send a rescue party out to the dungeon or destination you were told to go to. There's some ink on the table."

Barak dipped his finger in the ink and wrote the letter B on the paper. "This stuff washes off, right?" he asked when it was too late.

Litleo let out a giggle. "You better hope so, little guy. Was finger painting yer favorite subject in school?"

To avoid making the same mistake as Barak, I stabbed the paper with one of my thorns. "There. Good enough."

Then I walked back to my room, reading myself for the job. It was time to explore the graveyard.


	9. Chapter 9: Viva Voce

The shifty creature scoped the area, craning his neck back and forth to look over our shoulders, as if we'd brought an invisible army behind us. When he was satisfied that we weren't going to ambush him, he stepped back and gestured us inside. All the while, his eyes darted about wildly as he waved for us to hurry with his wings.

If I were any more removed from the situation, I might have found the black crow's appearance humorous. He had what appeared to be a wide-brimmed hat that only accentuated his wild movements, making him seem completely crazy. His tail was unlike most birds', having a hair-like look to it, rather than feathery one. For a Murkrow though, he seemed like any other, except for the erratic behavior.

"So I assume you're Raidark? We got your job request," Barak asked as he walked into the house. I followed suit, still hesitant to enter a dark room with such a shady person.

His darting eyes came to rest on the speaker. He began to drill holes in him with an intense stare. "Yes. I knew you would come," he said ambiguously.

"You are Raidark, aren't you?" Barak insisted.

"Yes yes. Call me Raid please."

"So what're your instructions then?"

"Instructions...," he muttered as he began pacing in tight circles. "I have them memorized."

I looked around the room. It was completely barren, save a straw nest in the corner of the room and a little box beside it. There weren't any windows whatsoever, making the room incredibly dark. If it weren't for the open door, it would have been impossible to see or escape anything.

Murkrow spun around and looked at me. For the first time, I noticed his eyes were completely bloodshot and unhealthily wide with terror. His fears, real or imagined, were taking over. Whatever had control over him had a firm grip on his psyche, and that made him both dangerous and unpredictable.

He cleared his throat and began to speak in an oddly rehearsed tone.

"Go to the graveyard south of Harmony, just outside the city. Explore the area and report any findings. Above all, _do not engage the enemy_."

The client's expression changed again, this time to an even more fearful one than before. Shifting his weight from leg to leg he looked at us pleadingly.

"There. I said it, okay? Please hurry."

"We'll get on it right away, Raid," Barak said with a salute. "You can always count on Team Protectors."

After ending his salute, he began to head for the door. I wasn't finished though.

"What noises did you hear?" I demanded.

With two sets of eyes watching him, his body began to visibly tremble. Shielding his face with the brim of his hat, he waved us away with his wings.

"Please... go. Please..."

"C'mon, Thorn. Let's go..."

"No, if we're risking our lives for him. The least he can do is tell us what he knows."

I squinted at the wretched shell of a bird before me, waiting for an answer. Instead of offering one, he gave the same response as before.

"Please... just go. I'm so tired..."

Barak squeezed past me and shuffled outside, calling me to follow him. I gave the bird a passing glare and did so, frowning at my partner's decision. If he were a little more forceful, we could have gotten some information: a lead directing us to what we were searching for. Instead, we were stuck looking for some unknown entity that we weren't supposed to fight.

Stepping into the sunlight blinded me, reminding me how dark and eerie the house we left really was. As if I needed a reminder. His words didn't sit well with me, especially his insistence above all else to avoid the enemy. He spoke as if an encounter was certain, as if he knew of some sort of threat that may tempt us to fight it.

This was disconcerting, especially after seeing his fearful disposition. While it was unlikely that he met anything that instantly transformed him into his current state, it was not beyond the realm of possibility. We would have to remain on our toes while exploring.

A graveyard probably wasn't the most pleasant of settings to be scouting, but if it were anywhere else, I wouldn't have suggested the job. Granted, my reason was selfish curiosity, but if I didn't at least check, it would have driven me insane. There was something pushing me to find the answers, a feeling that I couldn't shake or describe. I put too much faith in my instinct to ignore the questions before me.

Namely, why was I having those dreams? And why were they affecting me so profoundly?

The thought of asking Barak about Giratina crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. As helpful as he tried to be, he was not the sort of person I went to with my problems.

"Let's hurry," Barak urged, as we began to head for our next destination. "Maybe we can put Raid's mind at rest."

I snorted. "Doubt it."

* * *

Beautifully carved with themes of nature and life, the gate stood as an ironic barrier between the world of the living and dead. Even more strange, between the metal bars I could see plots assigned to the dead were lush, green, and possibly the most fertile land I'd seen in all of my travels. It seemed like such a waste, devoting so much water to those that couldn't appreciate it, but I had little control over that.

I'd half expected to find myself in a barren wasteland littered with jutting stones, each signifying the failure of the fallen. Instead, I saw only mounds with flowers atop each of them, tokens representing their continued legacy in a world that had seemingly moved on.

I pushed open the gate and stepped in to what looked like a garden. Unlike the ominous silence in Hope, the graveyard's quiet atmosphere was peaceful, almost invitingly peaceful. Then again, very few dead people have the energy to start trouble.

Barak followed behind me, hands folded nervously together as he stepped around anything that looked like a lump of earth.

"Should we check the woods first?" he suggested.

I gave an affirming grunt. Although the graveyard wasn't especially large compared to the city of Harmony, it still had enough space to hold a collection of trees just barely large enough to get lost in. They were unlike the trees I was familiar with, but were not completely alien to me thanks to the domesticated trees I saw on occasion.

As we passed by the mounds, I was struck how much they reminded me of the abandoned bodies I saw in the desert. Even though they were covered by a soft layer of earth and painted with a colorful flower, they were still unnamed lumps in the ground. Without any markings to distinguish between them, the bodies could easily be mixed up or forgotten over the years.

What was the point in maintaining a grave anyway? Was it an old tradition that refused to die? Or was it done in the hopes that the same courtesy would be done to them? Whatever the reason, it seemed superstitious in nature, likely the remnants of a belief in the afterlife.

"Thorn! Don't step on that!"

I looked down at my feet. I had accidentally trampled a flower or two on my way to the forest and was about to step on another. Making sure Barak saw my look of apathy, I walked around the precious little plant and moved on, avoiding the flowers for his sake.

"Most of them are fake, you know," I mentioned.

"But they're not yours though. I don't want to be bad Pokémon team like Team Drill."

I stopped in my tracks and whipped around. "I'm _nothing_ like them, _got it_?" I hissed. "Don't you _dare_ compare me to them."

He put up his hands. "Hey calm down, Thorn."

I kicked at the dirt and turned my back on him.

* * *

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want you to ruin people's graves like that. That's all some people have left in this world."

We were deep in the woods, having journeyed through the brush without speaking to one another, which suited me just fine. Surprisingly, we hadn't found a single Pokémon along the way, making our trip seem more and more pointless with each passing step. I was unused to moving through such terrain, but I quickly adjusted to the low-growing hazards and tall grass that blocked my path.

I sighed. "I'm not mad at you, Barak, I'm mad at Team Drill. And I'm going to stay mad until something is done about them."

"Don't worry, Thorn. The good guys always win in the end. They'll get what's coming to them."

"You wish," I muttered.

That's when we heard it- the clear, sweet tune coming from deeper in the woods, sung in a language unfamiliar to me. Everything I was doing, everything I was thinking, ceased after hearing the heavenly voice. For a brief moment, I forgot who I was, or perhaps I gave up on remembering. Everything seemed so trivial as became completely lost in the beautiful sound.

Then the voice stopped, ending on an inconclusive note. I jolted, as if woken from a light sleep. The spell was broken, making me feel incomplete, robbed of my chance to hear the song in its entirety.

"What was that?" Barak asked, as if I would know. His eyes were wide with surprise, still not completely recovered from the song's effects.

I shrugged. "I have no idea, but that's a strange noise though. Looks like we've found who we were looking for."

"I'll say. You think we should follow the voice?"

His foot was already aimed in the direction of the sound, indicating his eagerness to follow it. I had to admit, I wanted to hear the end of the song just as much as he did, even if I didn't show it.

"That's our job, isn't it?"

We pushed our way through the underbrush, desperately trying to find the song's owner. Barak led the charge by a few steps, having much more agility and speed than I could ever hope to have.

All the while, I kept thinking about the song we'd heard. It was consuming my thoughts, even more so than the dreams I was having. Although the words were beyond my understanding, I could sense the bittersweet tone in their presentation and the sadness behind their meaning. It was a mystery, a mystery I was determined to find the answer to.

Eventually we came to a circular clearing in the woods, where the air was still and the flowers even more plentiful. There, sitting on a tree stump, a green little Pokémon sat, watching us with child-like fascination.

She had a large head, big, blue eyes with black rims and tiny little body, giving her an infantile appearance. She had clear bug-like wings, two thin antennae, and a round head with hair pulled back to a single point, resembling a water drop. There was something other-worldly in her appearance, something sacred in her design that made me approach her with caution.

Blinking at our sudden appearance, she stood up on her tree stump to look at us from a better angle. That's when Barak held out an arm to stop me from approaching her.

"Wait," he said, keeping an eye on the creature. "That's no ordinary Pokémon."

I looked at her and then back at Barak. "Is she dangerous?" I asked.

He nodded.

"How do you know? She doesn't look that tough."

Barak shook his head. "No wonder her song was so beautiful. That's the Voice of the Forest. That's Celebi, a legendary Pokémon."


	10. Chapter 10: The Unreachable

I'd lived my entire life believing that as I grew up, I would put the childish stories behind me and move on to more important things. Everything people told me could easily fit into one of two categories: truth and nonsense, and the legendary Pokémon fell neatly into the latter- until I saw Celebi.

Everything that I thought was just a story was staring back at me, destroying what few truths I still held dear with her very presence. My mind began to summon elaborate explanations for the contradictions, but each fell short in the face of undeniable, tangible proof. My last hope was for the creature to be a shapeshifter. But even such a shapeshifter would have to have a legendary Pokémon to copy, proving their existence regardless. There was no way out of it- Celebi existed. Granted, I hadn't heard her called the "Voice of the Forest" by anyone except Barak before, but her described appearance was spot-on regardless.

But then a redeeming thought came to me- the stories could have been exaggerated. The tales of Celebi were often sprinkled with fantastical time traveling adventures, massive forest upheavals, and the ability to restore life, even to itself. But the most unbelievable part was the tales of its immortality, that through its own immense power, it was able to forever cheat death of its long-awaited prize.

It went against everything I believed. This world only had one victor- and it was death. Every triumph, every accomplishment, every impact made in this world would eventually be swallowed up by the hungry, merciless beast. It was all a matter of time.

What was there to gain from defeating death anyway? If it weren't for death, there would be little motive to live- leaving behind a legacy would be impossible. Without taking another step, you can never leave behind a footprint. As frightening as it is, death has always been a necessary evil.

I looked at Celebi, who looked at me expectantly, as if I'd shown up to entertain her. As she did so, she began to flap her tiny wings and hover in the air, looking down at the grounded Pokémon beneath her.

"Are you lost, little ones?"

There was a patronizing tone in her question, which didn't escape our notice. There was no doubt that this was the song's performer, but we were much less eager to meet her than we were before.

"I'm not little...," Barak muttered under his breath.

After spinning in midair, she flitted down to Barak's level and moved her face next to his. Then she pat him on the head.

"Itty bitty," she said impishly. Then she flew up into the air and waited for him to react. All he did was fold his arms, but that seemed enough to encourage her. Swaying back and forth, she pointed her fingers at him and giggled.

Interrupting her fun, I took a step forward and changed the subject.

"What was that song about?"

"Oh, you heard that?" she asked, with a hint of surprise in her voice. Her smile faded. "That song wasn't for you, you know."

"Whatever. You sang it loud enough for everyone to hear, so I want to know what it's about," I said boldly, purposely ignoring Barak's warning. I took another step forward until I was practically underneath her.

"Thorn..." Barak cautioned.

Celebi huffed, offended by my persistence, but not enough to use her supposed time powers on me. She folded her arms and turned away, deciding to ignore me instead. She bobbed up and down slowly, hovering in the still air, with only the sound of her wings to fill the empty silence.

Then her lips pulled back into a smirk, as if she were about to tell an incredibly cruel joke. She lowered herself and gracefully lofted in front of me, spinning on one foot after the landing. Then she leaned forward, as if she were telling me a secret.

"You like it? It's a song about _murder_."

"I should have known," I grumbled. Seeing her behavior, the subject matter didn't surprise me. There was something different about her, and it wasn't just her childish attitude. She seemed to be toying with us, but I couldn't figure out how or why.

"We should go...," Barak pleaded, backpedaling away from the forest creature.

"What's the hurry? You seemed _so_ eager to see me."

Barak put on the most steadfast face he could muster. After giving a little bow, he began walking away. "Sorry for disturbing you, Voice of the Forest."

Suddenly a piercing shriek burst from Celebi's throat. Rising up, she began to shout in another language, shaking the whole forest with her voice. Then she pointed her finger at Barak.

"_How do you know my title?! Who told you?!_"

"Run!" I shouted. I turned around and began dashing into the forest, my arms waving wildly to maintain my balance. It didn't take long for Barak to follow and eventually overtake me. My thorns ripped through leaves and tore at the vegetation in my haste, slowing me down. But I pushed myself through the foliage as if my life depended on it, and was eventually able to escape from her glaring eyes.

"I'll find out! I'll find out!" she yelled, as we moved into the forest and disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Slow down... slow down...," I begged, stumbling out of the woods.

My partner stopped and knelt on one knee, catching his breath. After I made it to him, I took the opportunity to catch my breath as well. Both of us kept looking back at the woods, half expecting for Celebi to jump out and scare us.

"She's crazy," Barak gasped. "I thought she had a totally different personality."

He looked back at the woods again. "She could have caught us if she wanted to," he mentioned. "She's faster than she looks."

I got up and continued walking, even though I hadn't completely recovered. "All the more reason to get moving," I said.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem completely evil or anything, but I wouldn't want to hang out with her. Let's tell Raid what happened; he'll be interested in hearing this."

"And most importantly, he'll give us the reward," I said as I left the graveyard behind me.

Even though I hadn't learned anything about Giratina, I was content with avoiding a potentially dangerous situation. Celebi might not have been a time-traveling monster, but she was mentally unstable, and that was dangerous enough. I should have known; living in a graveyard could make anyone crazy.

Looking back at the place, it still had its serene charm to it, despite its dead and living residents. Everything was fresh, vibrant, pleasant even, especially with a gentle wind and empty sky to compliment the atmosphere. The grass, given enough space to expand, had even intruded beyond the fenced-in area and into the world beyond. I could have sworn the area around the graveyard was desolate before, but little shoots had already begun to take root and grow.

"Hey, Barak, was the grass like that before?"

"You mean so green? Yeah, I know! Doesn't it look amazing?"

"Never mind. Let's go get our money."

* * *

"So what else do you know about Celebi?" I asked as we moved through the city. The streets weren't as crowded as the main path usually was, but there were enough Pokémon to make the city seem alive at the very least. There was enough background noise to encourage talking, and I had a lot of questions that needed answering.

"Not much, actually. Most of what I know about her comes from a- a story."

I waited for him to elaborate, but after a few minutes, I realized he wouldn't. So I pressed him further.

"What happened in the story?"

He laughed and brushed my comment away with a gesture of his hand. "It's nothing, really. She made time portals for the good guys to jump through is all. But that game is really old now-"

"Game? Was this a game of pretend then?"

"Sorta," he said sheepishly. His walk started to slow a little as his mind began to wander. "I kinda miss those days...," he said in an odd tone of voice. It took me a while, but I eventually realized that he was showing signs of homesickness.

I hadn't thought about Barak's old home. If he was a human in a Pokémon world, he must have felt incredibly lonesome and confused, and possibly still was. But he seemed to have adjusted incredibly well, leading me to believe that, if he really did come from somewhere else, his world was not unlike ours. I had to admit, I was becoming curious of his origins, but we'd both agreed to keep our pasts to ourselves.

"Was Giratina in the story as well?" I asked, finally getting the name off of my chest.

The word startled him at first, causing him to stop in the middle of the street. But after he received a few stares, he returned to his normal pace. Putting a finger to his lips thoughtfully, he began to make thinking noises to show me he was trying to answer my question.

"Y'know, I don't think so. But it's been so long, I can't be sure. I lot of other... stories have come out since then."

We were coming up to Raid's street, so the landmarks had become much more important to us. Raid's house looked like any other, except for a red arch above the doorway, which made finding it to be quite a task without clear directions.

"Since you brought up Giratina, does that mean you guys know all the legendaries?" Barak asked, not realizing how ridiculous his question was.

I sidestepped past a fast-moving passer-by. Like most Pokémon, he was much bigger than me and might not have even noticed a little plant walking near him. "Is Giratina a legendary?" I asked.

Barak pointed to the city's mural, which was visible from almost every street in the city. "See the legendary Pokémon being thrown into the pit? That's Giratina. It looks pretty evil, so it's probably a bad guy in this world."

I looked at the Pokémon he was referring to. She was the demon-creature that caught my attention before, an eerie coincidence that didn't sit well with me. If the name had come to me in a dream, I must have either heard it before, or had a rather insightful imagination to have come up with it accidentally. I chose to believe the former.

Squinting at the mural again, I took a more investigative look at the creature in question. She had a large, dinosaur-like shape to her, similar to Tropius in design. Her wings were black and bat-like, with three red spikes attached to them. All six of her legs were pillar-like with three yellow, pointed claws on their ends. Six yellow, semi-circular bands on her sides formed what looked like a rib cage on her chest, giving her a rather frightening appearance. On top of her head, there seemed to be a golden helmet, resembling a headpiece and tiara, with two dull spikes protruding from her head that somewhat diminished her intimidating look.

The most strange feature of her appearance, however, was her face. She had a bird-like mouth, almost like a raven, and piercing red eyes that never looked at anything else on the mural. In fact, her eyes were always drawn looking at the painting's viewer- the city below. It was one more reason for me to hate the painting, and I was sure I'd find many more as time went on.

"This is the street," Barak noted.

I looked up and saw the familiar landmarks- a statue of a golden snake, a sign listing the neighborhood's basic rules, and a little fountain shooting water up from an irregularly-shaped rock. Almost every neighborhood had one of these little fountains, which made water, a resource I once had to scavenge and ration, plentiful, overabundant even. If I weren't careful, living in Harmony could potentially make me grow soft to the harsh world outside.

Raid's house was the twelfth building on the right, at least according to my memory, which I assumed would appear to be uninhabited like it was before. As it turned out, not only was my memory correct, but my assumption as well. From the street, it looked like the sun was unable to reach the inside of the house, making the place look like an empty mouth waiting to swallow us up.

We approached the house, only to have a bag thrown at us from the darkness. Attached to the bag, held there by a string, was a green feather.

"Take it! Take it!" I heard a voice shout. "I don't need it anymore!"

"Check the bag," I instructed, "Make sure the money's there."

Barak didn't. Instead, he began to walk toward the house. "Don't you wanna know what happened?"

"Get away from me!" the panicked voice blurted. "Go away and take the Lunar Wing with you!"

I could hear him flap his wings as his voice rose to a fevered pitch. A couple of feathers flew from the doorway, settling on the grass outside of his home. Although I couldn't see him, I knew he was not himself, unless acting crazy was normal for him.

"We have the money, Barak. Let's do what he says."

I could tell he didn't want to. He didn't seem the type that enjoyed open-ended problems, especially ones that involved him, but he had no choice. It's impossible to help someone that doesn't want to be helped, no matter how hard you try.

Barak took one last longing look at the doorway and then backed off, walking backwards for most of the way. Then, carrying the bag with both hands, he stepped into the street and began to journey back to headquarters. I followed behind, taking another look at the house myself.

I was certain I had made the right decision to leave. Maybe, if things had gone differently, I would have stayed to find out what was wrong with him. But I saw his feathers, and I knew right away we were in over our heads. I had a sense that something was wrong with him, but I didn't have any proof before. But now I had it: his feathers were soaked in blood.


	11. Chapter 11: Discovery

"You're here to visit Ekans again? I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. Follow me..."

Chansey pushed aside the curtain and walked in, expecting us to follow. Taking in a deep breath beforehand, Barak entered the infirmary expectantly, with his less noticeable associate tagging along just behind him.

The first thing to greet us was a chorus of coughs, coming from a thin, bell-shaped plant whose body shook with every forceful exertion. His waist and neck, barely the girth of a twig, could hardly hold up the disproportionately large head hoisted upon them, so the whole foundation wobbled like a spinning top.

"I'll get your cough medicine soon, Bellsprout," Chansey said as she opened the next room's curtain.

The room was much the same as it was before- clean, quiet, and for the most part, uninteresting. I recognized Sliggoo, the blind-looking slug, and a few others from yesterday, but most of the patients had already moved out since then. Like last time, we received a few groggy waves and a couple of smiles as we passed by. I gave them a respectful wave but kept most of my attention on the next room, the pit of sickness that Drake was trapped in.

If even walking through the horror show was unpleasant, I couldn't imagine what it was like sleeping there, surrounded by the filth and disease. It disgusted me. Not only were the injuries terrible, but the conditions were as well. In such an environment, even the most protected of wounds would eventually become infected. The more I thought about it, the less sure I was that we'd made the right decision. While Chansey was an excellent caretaker, she was only one person, taking care of several dozen needy patients. The infirmary was grossly understaffed.

Barak nodded to Chansey as he moved past her, delving into the back room with much more apparent confidence than I could muster.

"Try not to wake up the other patients," I heard her say as he disappeared from my vision.

I looked back at the room one last time and sighed, which caught the attention of the Sliggoo, who began approaching me eagerly.

I rushed into the next room, as Chansey gave the same warning to me. "You too, Cacnea. They need their rest."

"I understand," I whispered as the unpleasant haze enveloped me.

Avoiding the minefield of used bandages and pans of off-color liquids, I trekked over to the team's third member. Chansey picked up much of the mess behind me, but her efforts accomplished little in the never-ending mess of medical waste. She acted like a housekeeper, cleaning up after the visit of an unexpected visitor. It made me wonder how many Pokémon came to visit the poor souls trapped there. Because the hospital only took explorers, they must have been part of their explorer teams, so why weren't there more visitors? Surely their teammates worried about them, especially in such states?

Just like in the last room, there were a few Pokémon missing, one of which was the mangled Linoone. I wondered how many of the patients had recovered and how many of them didn't make it. If they died, the almost certainly died alone, surrounded by Pokémon too sick to comfort them.

"Oh, Barak, it's you! And you, Thorn!"

A grateful snake looked up at us as we came closer, bringing some life into his dead-looking form. He still had his brace on, preventing him from repositioning himself, despite his efforts to the contrary.

Thankfully, his bed had been changed since last I saw him. The area around the cot had been cleared a little, and Drake looked surprisingly healthy for someone that was on the verge of death just yesterday. There was still a defeated look about him, but there was hope in his eyes. Many of the other injured Pokémon were not so lucky.

"How was your first day?" he asked, looking up at us.

"We saw a legendary!" Barak blurted.

Drake's face was priceless. "How do you know? Which one?" he questioned, surprised by the way the conversation was going. His eyes were wide with interest, as though the new topic had brought a fresh look on life for him.

"I know what Celebi looks like. We even had a conversation with her!"

"You're so lucky," he said with a tinge of jealousy apparent in his tone. His eyes were fogged over with a longing look as he stared into the distance, a stare fixed there for an uncomfortably long time.

I looked around the room. Because there weren't any windows, Drake was almost completely cut off from the world, which made even the most mundane of daily tasks sound like little adventures to him. But to hear about real adventures- that was torture.

If I were able to control the monkey, I would have told him to keep quiet about the Celebi incident, for all of our sakes. Celebi didn't seem the sort that could handle too much attention, and if anyone found out that a "legendary" was making its stay in the forest nearby, the place would be overrun with eager searchers.

"She wasn't worth talking to," I reassured, hoping to do some damage control. To him though, it appeared that I was simply being overly negative again.

"But a legendary...," his voice trailed. "You know, I used to study the legendaries, before I- before I chose another path."

"That makes sense," Barak said with a nod. "You knew those cool facts about Kyogre and Groudon, and I'll bet you have tons of stories about Celebi too."

"But not in chronological order, of course," he replied with a weak laugh. He coughed, wincing as he did so. "So what was she like? I have to know!"

"Absolutely crazy," I informed him with my arms folded.

"_See_? I_ told _you the legendary Pokémon were real!" Barak declared, pointing his finger at me. "_You _didn't believe me."

"Legendary Pokémon?!" a new voice cried. We turned to find Slugger standing in the doorway, beaming proudly at his new discovery. It was only then that we realized how loud and foolish we were being. Although our mission and discovery weren't exactly secret, they weren't the sorts of things that should be announced in a room full of Pokémon.

Chansey, who was still in the room giving water to a bed-ridden Ledian, blocked the Sliggoo's entrance with her body. "What are you doing here? If you've the energy to eavesdrop, then you've the energy to help care for these poor explorers."

Slugger's face scrunched up, as if he were wrinkling his nonexistent nose. "No thanks. I've just stopped by to say that I'm all better now."

"It's good to see you've recovered so quickly," Chansey said, not budging from her spot. "Don't hurt yourself again on your way out."

Slugger's tone suddenly changed to one of false politeness. "Could I say goodbye to my dear old friend though? Bark may not see me for a long time."

"My name's Barak, not Bark," came a quick reply.

There was a tense moment where the two Pokémon at the doorway stared at each other, both trying to read the expressions and motives of the other. Then Chansey looked back at us, to see if we were really interested in talking to him. I wasn't, but Barak seemed like he wanted to give him a chance.

"Fine. Say goodbye to your friend and go," she said reluctantly. Then she turned to us. "I'm sorry, but you two will have to leave as well. This was supposed to be everyone's nap time."

Sliggoo squeezed past her and sidled up to us, looking like a child who had avoided a well-deserved punishment.

"So is this one of your team members?" he asked, pointing his head at the cot.

"I'm Drake," the Ekans interjected, not entirely sure what to make of the new Pokémon. He eyed the dragon slug cautiously.

"Yeah yeah, good to meet you," he spoke with a hurtful, dismissive attitude. After standing up straight, he turned to address us instead. "Since he's not gonna help you much, I guess you need another member, right?"

His words caused our jaws to drop. The three of us were in awe of his blatant disregard. There he was, standing right in front of Drake, declaring our partner's uselessness, and using the circumstance as leverage for promoting himself. None of us knew what to say or how to react to such a proposition. One thing was certain though- we had drastically lowered our opinions of him.

So much of sadness washed over Drake that I thought he was going to break down and cry.

"We'll never replace you," Barak assured. He reached over to pat him on the head, but thought better of it.

"Hey, don't act that way; I'm not trying to replace anyone. I'm just offering my help, is all."

He looked back and forth between us, trying to find an empathetic face among us. But after seeing our indignant looks, he backed off and made his way to the door, avoiding the unpleasant piles as he moved backwards.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be staying in Roserade's division. If you feel like recruiting a friend, just ask for me, Slugger."

Then he moved behind the curtain and disappeared from sight.

"Welcome back, newbies!" Flare greeted us from across the room.

We stepped in to what looked like the middle of a party, with Pokémon socializing in groups and a table of food and drinks off to the side. Although there weren't any decorations, the atmosphere was light and pleasant enough to make up for it. We were still standing in the commons room, where all the jobs were posted, but the whole place was completely different with so many Pokémon around. Everything felt much more alive when the sounds of small talk and laughter were present.

The Litleo disengaged from her conversation with Plusle to make an announcement. "Look everybody! The new guys have come back from their first job!"

Eyes that would have passed over us took sudden interest in our arrival. Several Pokémon rushed toward us, eager to see and talk with the division's new team, while a few others watched with removed fascination. Flare was in the former group, leading the charge.

A bulky blue alligator-like creature was the first Pokémon to reach us. Standing at nearly three times my height, he looked down at me curiously. All the while, his large, obtrusive jaw continued to chomp on something, likely some food from the table.

Although he could have easily squashed us, no part of him, except his protruding fangs, looked intimidating in any way. He had red, spikey fins on the top of his head, but they looked lopsided and pointless. He had a few spikes on his back and tail, but they were so rounded that even falling on top of them wouldn't hurt me. He had a round, almost egg-shaped body that had didn't seem to hold very much muscle, at least not enough to make up for his girth.

But I knew better. He was a Croconaw- a species prone to biting for prolonged periods of time, until they became bored. The more their victims struggled to escape though, the less bored they became. If he was an explorer like us, he probably wasn't cruel, but I still had to keep my wits about me.

"What name is yours?" he asked, pointing a clumsy finger in my direction.

"I'm Thorn," I replied with reserved pride.

A chorus of greetings came my way. I nodded to address them.

"Heh heh, you are fu-u-unny," the Croconaw drawled as he waddled over to Barak. "And thorny too," he added, laughing at his own joke.

As Croconaw's attention shifted to the Chimchar, so did the rest of the crowd's. My partner was more than happy to introduce himself.

"I'm Barak, leader of Team Protectors," he declared, using his thumb to point to himself. "And I'm here to help those in need!"

"Hi Barak!" Flare needlessly shouted, waving her paw at him. Everyone joined in shortly afterward, although they didn't offering the same degree of unchecked enthusiasm. The circle of Pokémon closed in even tighter.

"So how was your first job?" Flare inquired, leaning in closer.

Suddenly the doors behind us burst open, revealing a pale, slender figure. She had a large, purple head that appeared to be covered in ice, like a Cubone's mask, covering her face. Her head, much like Celebi's, was shaped like a sideways tear drop. With bright yellow eyes, she looked at the crowd before her, scanning it thoroughly. Two clumps of ice, resembling dull horns, were on top of her head, which, combined with her frozen mask, made her somewhat frightening to look upon. At the same time though, she had a long, flowing robe for a body with a large red bow tied around where her stomach would be, which was much less frightening.

Somehow, she had thin arms that were connected to her upper cheek, with fins that looked like loose sleeves connected to her wrist. And although her fingers were rather small, they were bent into sharp claws.

Without closing the door behind her, she moved through the crowd, parting it without the need for permission or space. Both were freely given to her. Somehow, she was able to silence the room with just her presence and hold the silence until she spoke. After turning to address us, she did so.

"Friends, I have grave news regarding the town of Hope."

Barak and I looked at each other nervously. We knew this would happen, but we were unsure how soon the word would arrive. Neither of us knew how the Pokémon would react.

"According to the reports, the entire town was place under a sleeping spell which caused everyone to instantly fall asleep. Because it happened so quickly, many Pokémon died as a result."

The message had caught us off guard. They were only asleep? How was that possible? I cursed myself for not checking their vitals, and for assuming their death while taking the liberty of ransacking their possessions.

"At this point, that's all we really know. More information will come with time. Until then, keep safe and avoid dangerous situations where you are unprepared to fall asleep. That is all."

She gave a bow, turned, and floated down the hallway.

I looked over at Barak. He was shaking like a leaf. I could see fear in his eyes, such deadly fear that it began to spread over me. His breathing became harder and harder to predict as his movements and breaths grew faster and faster.

All of a sudden, he burst down the hallway, pushing past the other Pokémon and into our room. I followed after him, struggling to catch up.

He slammed the door behind us and looked at me with his wide eyes.

"Thorn, do you realize what this means? We buried that Cacnea alive! We're _murderers_!"


End file.
